Touch screen capacitive grid data reduction method and system

ABSTRACT

A method includes obtaining, by a processing module interacting with a touch screen of a computing device, self and mutual capacitance data from a plurality of drive-sense circuits of the computing device. The method further includes generating, by the processing module, capacitance grid data based on the self and mutual capacitance data. The method further includes determining, by the processing module, a use for the capacitance grid data. The method further includes determining, by the processing module, data requirements for the capacitance grid data based on the use and properties of the capacitance grid. When data reduction is enabled, the method further includes determining, by the processing module, a data reduction scheme based on the data requirements and an output data rate. The method further includes processing, by the processing module, the capacitance grid data in accordance with the data reduction scheme to produce reduced capacitive grid data.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present U.S. Utility patent application claims priority pursuant to35 U.S.C. § 120 as a continuation of U.S. Utility application Ser. No.16/834,442, entitled “THREE-DIMENSIONAL DATA REDUCTION METHOD ANDSYSTEM,” filed Mar. 30, 2020, issuing as U.S. Pat. No. 11,144,160, onOct. 12, 2021 which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety and made part of the present U.S. Utility patent applicationfor all purposes.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Technical Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to data communication systems and moreparticularly to sensed data collection and/or communication.

Description of Related Art

Computers are known to process data, store data, and communicate datawith other computers, cell phones, servers, printers, and/or storageservices. To make the communication of data more efficient from a dataamount standpoint, the data is often compressed. There are a variety ofknown lossless and lossy data compression techniques. For example,lossless compression reduces bit count by eliminating data redundancies.Lossy compression reduces bit count by removing less importantinformation.

Image data (e.g., pictures), audio data, and video data are oftencompressed using lossless and/or lossy data compression techniques. Thedata compression techniques employed for images, audio, and video dataare based on human perception of sound and sight. There are certainaspects of images, audio, and video that are minimally perceptible tohumans and thus can be compressed using lossy techniques. Similarly,there are certain aspects of images, audio, and video that perceptibleto humans and thus can be compressed using lossless techniques.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed incolor. Copies of this patent or patent application publication withcolor drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and paymentof the necessary fee.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a communicationsystem in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a computingdevice in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of a computingdevice in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a touch screendisplay in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of a touchscreen display in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a sensor gridfor three-dimensional imaging in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7A is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a capacitivegrid of a touch screen in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7B is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a capacitivegrid data of a touch screen in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8A is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a computingdevice that includes data reduction for touch screen data in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 8B is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of acomputing device that includes data reduction for touch screen data inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 9A is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a computingdevice that includes data reduction for 3D image data in accordance withthe present invention;

FIG. 9B is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of acomputing device that includes data reduction for 3D image data inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 10 is logic diagram of an example of a method for touch screen datareduction in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 11 is logic diagram of a further example of a method for touchscreen data reduction in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram of an example of a self-capacitancesignal in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram of an example of mutual capacitancesignals in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a drive sensecircuit in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of drive sensecircuits interacting with electrodes and a processing module inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 16 is logic diagram of an example of a method of data reduction inaccordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 16A-16D are examples of various touch screen interactions and datarequirements in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a touch screenand a processing module in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 18 is a schematic block diagram of an example of interactionbetween data use, data requirements, output data rate, and datareduction schemes in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a schematic block diagram of an example of data requirementsin accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 19A is a schematic block diagram of another example of datarequirements in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 20A is a schematic block diagram of an example of indexing a datareduction look up table (LUT) in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 20B-20D are schematic block diagrams of specific examples ofindexing a data reduction look up table (LUT) in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 21 is a schematic block diagram of an example of capacitance griddata in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 22 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y coordinates ofcapacitance grid data caused by touches in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 23 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y coordinates ofcapacitance grid data caused by hovers in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 24 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-z coordinates ofcapacitance grid data caused by hovers in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 25 is a schematic block diagram of an example of y-z coordinates ofcapacitance grid data caused by hovers in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 26 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y coordinates ofcapacitance grid data caused by a pattern, an object, and/or ascreen-to-screen communication element with a ground path in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 27 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y coordinates ofcapacitance grid data caused by a pattern, an object, and/or ascreen-to-screen communication element without a ground path inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 28 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-z coordinates ofcapacitance grid data caused by a pattern, an object, and/or ascreen-to-screen communication element in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 29 is a schematic block diagram of an example of y-z coordinates ofcapacitance grid data caused by a pattern, an object, and/or ascreen-to-screen communication element in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 30 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y coordinates ofcapacitance grid data caused by a pattern, an object, and/or ascreen-to-screen communication element and a touch and/or hover inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 31 is a schematic block diagram of an example of capacitance griddata caused by a touch, a hover, a pattern, an object, and/or ascreen-to-screen communication element within a region in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 32 is a schematic block diagram of an example of capacitance griddata caused by a desired touch and an undesired touch in accordance withthe present invention;

FIG. 33 is a schematic block diagram of an example of filtering thecapacitive grid data to remove an undesired touch in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 34 is a schematic block diagram of an example of several frames ofcapacitive grid data with touches or hovers in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 35 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y-z values of acapacitive grid data forming a heat map in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 36 is a schematic block diagram of an example of z-value layers ofa capacitive grid data for contour mapping data reduction in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 37 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y0-z0 values forthe capacitive grid of FIG. 35 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 38 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 37 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 39 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y1-z1 values forthe capacitive grid of FIG. 35 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 40 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 39 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 41 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y2-z2 values forthe capacitive grid of FIG. 35 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 42 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 41 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 43 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y3-z3 values forthe capacitive grid of FIG. 35 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 44 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 43 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 45 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y4-z4 values forthe capacitive grid of FIG. 35 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 46 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 45 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 47 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y5-z5 values forthe capacitive grid of FIG. 35 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 48 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 47 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 49 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y6-z6 values forthe capacitive grid of FIG. 35 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 50 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 49 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 51 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y7-z7 values forthe capacitive grid of FIG. 35 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 52 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 51 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 53 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y8-z8 values forthe capacitive grid of FIG. 35 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 54 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 53 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 55 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y9-z9 values forthe capacitive grid of FIG. 35 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 56 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 55 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 57 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y10-z10 valuesfor the capacitive grid of FIG. 35 in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 58 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 57 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 59 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y11-z11 valuesfor the capacitive grid of FIG. 35 in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 60 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 59 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 61 is a schematic block diagram of an example of contour mappingthe values from FIGS. 36-60 with minimal to no filtering in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 62 is a schematic block diagram of an example of contour mappingthe values from FIGS. 36-60 with filtering in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 63 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a data circuitperforming an inverse of data reduction in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIGS. 64-65 are a logic diagram of an embodiment of a method for inversedata reduction in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 66 is a logic diagram of an embodiment of a method for changingdata reduction schemes in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a communicationsystem 10 that includes a plurality of computing. devices 12-10, one ormore servers 22, one or more databases 24, one or more networks 26, aplurality of drive-sense circuits 28, a plurality of sensors 30, and aplurality of actuators 32. Computing devices 14 include a touch screen16 with sensors and drive-sensor circuits and computing devices 18include a touch & tactic screen 20 that includes sensors, actuators, anddrive-sense circuits.

A sensor 30 functions to convert a physical input into an electricaloutput and/or an optical output. The physical input of a sensor may beone of a variety of physical input conditions. For example, the physicalcondition includes one or more of, but is not limited to, acoustic waves(e.g., amplitude, phase, polarization, spectrum, and/or wave velocity);a biological and/or chemical condition (e.g., fluid concentration,level, composition, etc.); an electric condition (e.g., charge, voltage,current, conductivity, permittivity, eclectic field, which includesamplitude, phase, and/or polarization); a magnetic condition (e.g.,flux, permeability, magnetic field, which amplitude, phase, and/orpolarization); an optical condition (e.g., refractive index,reflectivity, absorption, etc.); a thermal condition (e.g., temperature,flux, specific heat, thermal conductivity, etc.); and a mechanicalcondition (e.g., position, velocity, acceleration, force, strain,stress, pressure, torque, etc.). For example, piezoelectric sensorconverts force or pressure into an eclectic signal. As another example,a microphone converts audible acoustic waves into electrical signals.

There are a variety of types of sensors to sense the various types ofphysical conditions. Sensor types include, but are not limited to,capacitor sensors, inductive sensors, accelerometers, piezoelectricsensors, light sensors, magnetic field sensors, ultrasonic sensors,temperature sensors, infrared (IR) sensors, touch sensors, proximitysensors, pressure sensors, level sensors, smoke sensors, and gassensors. In many ways, sensors function as the interface between thephysical world and the digital world by converting real world conditionsinto digital signals that are then processed by computing devices for avast number of applications including, but not limited to, medicalapplications, production automation applications, home environmentcontrol, public safety, and so on.

The various types of sensors have a variety of sensor characteristicsthat are factors in providing power to the sensors, receiving signalsfrom the sensors, and/or interpreting the signals from the sensors. Thesensor characteristics include resistance, reactance, powerrequirements, sensitivity, range, stability, repeatability, linearity,error, response time, and/or frequency response. For example, theresistance, reactance, and/or power requirements are factors indetermining drive circuit requirements. As another example, sensitivity,stability, and/or linear are factors for interpreting the measure of thephysical condition based on the received electrical and/or opticalsignal (e.g., measure of temperature, pressure, etc.).

An actuator 32 converts an electrical input into a physical output. Thephysical output of an actuator may be one of a variety of physicaloutput conditions. For example, the physical output condition includesone or more of, but is not limited to, acoustic waves (e.g., amplitude,phase, polarization, spectrum, and/or wave velocity); a magneticcondition (e.g., flux, permeability, magnetic field, which amplitude,phase, and/or polarization); a thermal condition (e.g., temperature,flux, specific heat, thermal conductivity, etc.); and a mechanicalcondition (e.g., position, velocity, acceleration, force, strain,stress, pressure, torque, etc.). As an example, a piezoelectric actuatorconverts voltage into force or pressure. As another example, a speakerconverts electrical signals into audible acoustic waves.

An actuator 32 may be one of a variety of actuators. For example, anactuator 32 is one of a comb drive, a digital micro-mirror device, anelectric motor, an electroactive polymer, a hydraulic cylinder, apiezoelectric actuator, a pneumatic actuator, a screw jack, aservomechanism, a solenoid, a stepper motor, a shape-memory allow, athermal bimorph, and a hydraulic actuator.

The various types of actuators have a variety of actuatorscharacteristics that are factors in providing power to the actuator andsending signals to the actuators for desired performance. The actuatorcharacteristics include resistance, reactance, power requirements,sensitivity, range, stability, repeatability, linearity, error, responsetime, and/or frequency response. For example, the resistance, reactance,and power requirements are factors in determining drive circuitrequirements. As another example, sensitivity, stability, and/or linearare factors for generating the signaling to send to the actuator toobtain the desired physical output condition.

The computing devices 12, 14, and 18 may each be a portable computingdevice and/or a fixed computing device. A portable computing device maybe a social networking device, a gaming device, a cell phone, a smartphone, a digital assistant, a digital music player, a digital videoplayer, a laptop computer, a handheld computer, a tablet, a video gamecontroller, and/or any other portable device that includes a computingcore. A fixed computing device may be a computer (PC), a computerserver, a cable set-top box, a satellite receiver, a television set, aprinter, a fax machine, home entertainment equipment, a video gameconsole, and/or any type of home or office computing equipment. Thecomputing devices 12, 14, and 18 will be discussed in greater detailwith reference to one or more of FIGS. 2-4 .

A server 22 is a special type of computing device that is optimized forprocessing large amounts of data requests in parallel. A server 22includes similar components to that of the computing devices 12, 14,and/or 18 with more robust processing modules, more main memory, and/ormore hard drive memory (e.g., solid state, hard drives, etc.). Further,a server 22 is typically accessed remotely; as such it does notgenerally include user input devices and/or user output devices. Inaddition, a server may be a standalone separate computing device and/ormay be a cloud computing device.

A database 24 is a special type of computing device that is optimizedfor large scale data storage and retrieval. A database 24 includessimilar components to that of the computing devices 12, 14, and/or 18with more hard drive memory (e.g., solid state, hard drives, etc.) andpotentially with more processing modules and/or main memory. Further, adatabase 24 is typically accessed remotely; as such it does notgenerally include user input devices and/or user output devices. Inaddition, a database 24 may be a standalone separate computing deviceand/or may be a cloud computing device.

The network 26 includes one more local area networks (LAN) and/or one ormore wide area networks WAN), which may be a public network and/or aprivate network. A LAN may be a wireless-LAN (e.g., Wi-Fi access point,Bluetooth, ZigBee, etc.) and/or a wired network (e.g., Firewire,Ethernet, etc.). A WAN may be a wired and/or wireless WAN. For example,a LAN may be a personal home or business's wireless network and a WAN isthe Internet, cellular telephone infrastructure, and/or satellitecommunication infrastructure.

In an example of operation, computing device 12-1 communicates with aplurality of drive-sense circuits 28, which, in turn, communicate with aplurality of sensors 30. The sensors 30 and/or the drive-sense circuits28 are within the computing device 12-1 and/or external to it. Forexample, the sensors 30 may be external to the computing device 12-1 andthe drive-sense circuits are within the computing device 12-1. Asanother example, both the sensors 30 and the drive-sense circuits 28 areexternal to the computing device 12-1. When the drive-sense circuits 28are external to the computing device, they are coupled to the computingdevice 12-1 via wired and/or wireless communication links.

The computing device 12-1 communicates with the drive-sense circuits 28to; (a) turn them on, (b) obtain data from the sensors (individuallyand/or collectively), (c) instruct the drive sense circuit on how tocommunicate the sensed data to the computing device 12-1, (d) providesignaling attributes (e.g., DC level, AC level, frequency, power level,regulated current signal, regulated voltage signal, regulation of animpedance, frequency patterns for various sensors, different frequenciesfor different sensing applications, etc.) to use with the sensors,and/or (e) provide other commands and/or instructions.

As a specific example, the sensors 30 are distributed along a pipelineto measure flow rate and/or pressure within a section of the pipeline.The drive-sense circuits 28 have their own power source (e.g., battery,power supply, etc.) and are proximally located to their respectivesensors 30. At desired time intervals (milliseconds, seconds, minutes,hours, etc.), the drive-sense circuits 28 provide a regulated sourcesignal or a power signal to the sensors 30. An electrical characteristicof the sensor 30 affects the regulated source signal or power signal,which is reflective of the condition (e.g., the flow rate and/or thepressure) that sensor is sensing.

The drive-sense circuits 28 detect the effects on the regulated sourcesignal or power signals as a result of the electrical characteristics ofthe sensors. The drive-sense circuits 28 then generate signalsrepresentative of change to the regulated source signal or power signalbased on the detected effects on the power signals. The changes to theregulated source signals or power signals are representative of theconditions being sensed by the sensors 30.

The drive-sense circuits 28 provide the representative signals of theconditions to the computing device 12-1. A representative signal may bean analog signal or a digital signal. In either case, the computingdevice 12-1 interprets the representative signals to determine thepressure and/or flow rate at each sensor location along the pipeline.The computing device may then provide this information to the server 22,the database 24, and/or to another computing device for storing and/orfurther processing.

As another example of operation, computing device 12-2 is coupled to adrive-sense circuit 28, which is, in turn, coupled to a senor 30. Thesensor 30 and/or the drive-sense circuit 28 may be internal and/orexternal to the computing device 12-2. In this example, the sensor 30 issensing a condition that is particular to the computing device 12-2. Forexample, the sensor 30 may be a temperature sensor, an ambient lightsensor, an ambient noise sensor, etc. As described above, wheninstructed by the computing device 12-2 (which may be a default settingfor continuous sensing or at regular intervals), the drive-sense circuit28 provides the regulated source signal or power signal to the sensor 30and detects an effect to the regulated source signal or power signalbased on an electrical characteristic of the sensor. The drive-sensecircuit generates a representative signal of the affect and sends it tothe computing device 12-2.

In another example of operation, computing device 12-3 is coupled to aplurality of drive-sense circuits 28 that are coupled to a plurality ofsensors 30 and is coupled to a plurality of drive-sense circuits 28 thatare coupled to a plurality of actuators 32. The generally functionalityof the drive-sense circuits 28 coupled to the sensors 30 in accordancewith the above description.

Since an actuator 32 is essentially an inverse of a sensor in that anactuator converts an electrical signal into a physical condition, whilea sensor converts a physical condition into an electrical signal, thedrive-sense circuits 28 can be used to power actuators 32. Thus, in thisexample, the computing device 12-3 provides actuation signals to thedrive-sense circuits 28 for the actuators 32. The drive-sense circuitsmodulate the actuation signals on to power signals or regulated controlsignals, which are provided to the actuators 32. The actuators 32 arepowered from the power signals or regulated control signals and producethe desired physical condition from the modulated actuation signals.

As another example of operation, computing device 12-x is coupled to adrive-sense circuit 28 that is coupled to a sensor 30 and is coupled toa drive-sense circuit 28 that is coupled to an actuator 32. In thisexample, the sensor 30 and the actuator 32 are for use by the computingdevice 12-x. For example, the sensor 30 may be a piezoelectricmicrophone and the actuator 32 may be a piezoelectric speaker.

As yet another example of operation, computing device 12 is coupled to aplurality of drive sense circuits (DSC) 28, which are coupled to aplurality of sensors. In this example, the plurality of sensors form anarray to sense an item (person, animal, object, thing, etc.) andproduces three-dimensional data. As a specific example, and ultrasoundproduces three-dimensional data. As another specific example, sonarproduces three-dimensional data. As a further specific example, highfrequency radar systems provide three-dimensional data.

The three-dimensional data can be utilized in a variety of ways. Forexample, the three-dimensional data is displayed on a display of thecomputing device coupled to the drive sense circuits. As anotherexample, the three-dimensional data is sent to another computing devicefor processing (e.g., display, analysis, filtering, storage, etc.).Depending on the number of sensors, the bit size of each sensor sample,and the rate of sensing, the three-dimensional data can be very large(e.g., 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) or more). With such high datarates, especially when multiple computing devices are generatingthree-dimensional data, compressing the three-dimensional data isbeneficial. The benefits include reduced data rates, expanding analysisof three-dimensional data from one or more sources, reduced memoryrequirements, and/or reduced processing requirements.

While the benefits are clear, how to compress three-dimensional datainvolves a series of specific processes to ensure that thethree-dimensional data is adequately compressed and yet preserves thedesired use, or uses, of the data. For example, one data compressiontechnique may be adequate for a first type of use the three-dimensionaldata, but inadequate for another type of use of the data. In anotherexample, a multi-step approach to data reduction is needed to preservethe intended use, or uses.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a computingdevice 12 (e.g., any one of 12-1 through 12-x). The computing device 12includes a touch screen 16, a core control module 40, one or moreprocessing modules 42, one or more main memories 44, cache memory 46, avideo graphics processing module 48, a display 50, an Input-Output (I/O)peripheral control module 52, one or more input interface modules 56,one or more output interface modules 58, one or more network interfacemodules 60, and one or more memory interface modules 62. A processingmodule 42 is described in greater detail at the end of the detaileddescription of the invention section and, in an alternative embodiment,has a direction connection to the main memory 44. In an alternateembodiment, the core control module 40 and the I/O and/or peripheralcontrol module 52 are one module, such as a chipset, a quick pathinterconnect (QPI), and/or an ultra-path interconnect (UPI).

The touch screen 16 includes a touch screen display 80, a plurality ofsensors 30, a plurality of drive-sense circuits (DSC), and a touchscreen processing module 82. In general, the sensors (e.g., electrodes,capacitor sensing cells, capacitor sensors, inductive sensor, etc.)detect a proximal touch of the screen. For example, when one or morefingers touches the screen, capacitance of sensors proximal to thetouch(es) are affected (e.g., impedance changes). The drive-sensecircuits (DSC) coupled to the affected sensors detect the change andprovide a representation of the change to the touch screen processingmodule 82, which may be a separate processing module or integrated intothe processing module 42. In an alternate embodiment, the touch screen16 does not include a display, it just includes touch sensor array.

The touch screen processing module 82 processes the representativesignals from the drive-sense circuits (DSC) to determine the location ofthe touch(es). This information is inputted to the processing module 42for processing as an input. For example, a touch represents a selectionof a button on screen, a scroll function, a zoom in-out function, etc.

Each of the main memories 44 includes one or more Random Access Memory(RAM) integrated circuits, or chips. For example, a main memory 44includes four DDR4 (4^(th) generation of double data rate) RAM chips,each running at a rate of 2,400 MHz. In general, the main memory 44stores data and operational instructions most relevant for theprocessing module 42. For example, the core control module 40coordinates the transfer of data and/or operational instructions fromthe main memory 44 and the memory 64-66. The data and/or operationalinstructions retrieve from memory 64-66 are the data and/or operationalinstructions requested by the processing module or will most likely beneeded by the processing module. When the processing module is done withthe data and/or operational instructions in main memory, the corecontrol module 40 coordinates sending updated data to the memory 64-66for storage.

The memory 64-66 includes one or more hard drives, one or more solidstate memory chips, and/or one or more other large capacity storagedevices that, in comparison to cache memory and main memory devices,is/are relatively inexpensive with respect to cost per amount of datastored. The memory 64-66 is coupled to the core control module 40 viathe I/O and/or peripheral control module 52 and via one or more memoryinterface modules 62. In an embodiment, the I/O and/or peripheralcontrol module 52 includes one or more Peripheral Component Interface(PCI) buses to which peripheral components connect to the core controlmodule 40. A memory interface module 62 includes a software driver and ahardware connector for coupling a memory device to the I/O and/orperipheral control module 52. For example, a memory interface 62 is inaccordance with a Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) port.

The core control module 40 coordinates data communications between theprocessing module(s) 42 and the network(s) 26 via the I/O and/orperipheral control module 52, the network interface module(s) 60, and anetwork card 68 or 70. A network card 68 or 70 includes a wirelesscommunication unit or a wired communication unit. A wirelesscommunication unit includes a wireless local area network (WLAN)communication device, a cellular communication device, a Bluetoothdevice, and/or a ZigBee communication device. A wired communication unitincludes a Gigabit LAN connection, a Firewire connection, and/or aproprietary computer wired connection. A network interface module 60includes a software driver and a hardware connector for coupling thenetwork card to the I/O and/or peripheral control module 52. Forexample, the network interface module 60 is in accordance with one ormore versions of IEEE 802.11, cellular telephone protocols, 10/100/1000Gigabit LAN protocols, etc.

The core control module 40 coordinates data communications between theprocessing module(s) 42 and input device(s) 72 via the input interfacemodule(s) 56 and the I/O and/or peripheral control module 52. An inputdevice 72 includes a keypad, a keyboard, control switches, a touchpad, amicrophone, a camera, etc. An input interface module 56 includes asoftware driver and a hardware connector for coupling an input device tothe I/O and/or peripheral control module 52. In an embodiment, an inputinterface module 56 is in accordance with one or more Universal SerialBus (USB) protocols.

The core control module 40 coordinates data communications between theprocessing module(s) 42 and output device(s) 74 via the output interfacemodule(s) 58 and the I/O and/or peripheral control module 52. An outputdevice 74 includes a speaker, etc. An output interface module 58includes a software driver and a hardware connector for coupling anoutput device to the I/O and/or peripheral control module 52. In anembodiment, an output interface module 56 is in accordance with one ormore audio codec protocols.

The processing module 42 communicates directly with a video graphicsprocessing module 48 to display data on the display 50. The display 50includes an LED (light emitting diode) display, an LCD (liquid crystaldisplay), and/or other type of display technology. The display has aresolution, an aspect ratio, and other features that affect the qualityof the display. The video graphics processing module 48 receives datafrom the processing module 42, processes the data to produce rendereddata in accordance with the characteristics of the display, and providesthe rendered data to the display 50.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of a computingdevice 18 that includes a core control module 40, one or more processingmodules 42, one or more main memories 44, cache memory 46, a videographics processing module 48, a touch and tactile screen 20, anInput-Output (I/O) peripheral control module 52, one or more inputinterface modules 56, one or more output interface modules 58, one ormore network interface modules 60, and one or more memory interfacemodules 62. The touch and tactile screen 20 includes a touch and tactilescreen display 90, a plurality of sensors 30, a plurality of actuators32, a plurality of drive-sense circuits (DSC), a touch screen processingmodule 82, and a tactile screen processing module 92.

Computing device 18 operates similarly to computing device 14 of FIG. 2with the addition of a tactile aspect to the screen 20 as an outputdevice. The tactile portion of the screen 20 includes the plurality ofactuators (e.g., piezoelectric transducers to create vibrations,solenoids to create movement, etc.) to provide a tactile feel to thescreen 20. To do so, the processing module creates tactile data, whichis provided to the appropriate drive-sense circuits (DSC) via thetactile screen processing module 92, which may be a stand-aloneprocessing module or integrated into processing module 42. Thedrive-sense circuits (DSC) convert the tactile data into drive-actuatesignals and provide them to the appropriate actuators to create thedesired tactile feel on the screen 20.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a touch screendisplay 80 that includes a plurality of drive-sense circuits (DSC), atouch screen processing module 82, a display 83, and a plurality ofelectrodes 85. The touch screen display 80 is coupled to a processingmodule 42, a video graphics processing module 48, and a displayinterface 93, which are components of a computing device (e.g., 14-18),an interactive display, or other device that includes a touch screendisplay. An interactive display functions to provide users with aninteractive experience (e.g., touch the screen to obtain information, beentertained, etc.). For example, a store provides interactive displaysfor customers to find certain products, to obtain coupons, to entercontests, etc.

There are a variety of other devices that include a touch screendisplay. For example, a vending machine includes a touch screen displayto select and/or pay for an item. As another example of a device havinga touch screen display is an Automated Teller Machine (ATM). As yetanother example, an automobile includes a touch screen display forentertainment media control, navigation, climate control, etc.

The touch screen display 80 includes a large display 83 that has aresolution equal to or greater than full high-definition (HD), an aspectratio of a set of aspect ratios, and a screen size equal to or greaterthan thirty-two inches. The following table lists various combinationsof resolution, aspect ratio, and screen size for the display 83, butit's not an exhaustive list.

pixel screen Width Height aspect aspect Resolution (lines) (lines) ratioratio screen size (inches) HD (high 1280 720 1:1 16:9 32, 40, 43, 50,55, 60, definition) 65, 70, 75, &/or >80 Full HD 1920 1080 1:1 16:9 32,40, 43, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, &/or >80 HD 960 720 4:3 16:9 32, 40, 43,50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, &/or >80 HD 1440 1080 4:3 16:9 32, 40, 43, 50,55, 60, 65, 70, 75, &/or >80 HD 1280 1080 3:2 16:9 32, 40, 43, 50, 55,60, 65, 70, 75, &/or >80 QHD (quad 2560 1440 1:1 16:9 32, 40, 43, 50,55, 60, HD) 65, 70, 75, &/or >80 UHD (Ultra 3840 2160 1:1 16:9 32, 40,43, 50, 55, 60, HD) or 4K 65, 70, 75, &/or >80 8K 7680 4320 1:1 16:9 32,40, 43, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, &/or >80 HD and 1280- 720- 1:1,  2:3 50,55, 60, 65, 70, 75, above >=7680 >=4320 2:3, etc. &/or >80

The display 83 is one of a variety of types of displays that is operableto render frames of data into visible images. For example, the displayis one or more of: a light emitting diode (LED) display, anelectroluminescent display (ELD), a plasma display panel (PDP), a liquidcrystal display (LCD), an LCD high performance addressing (HPA) display,an LCD thin film transistor (TFT) display, an organic light emittingdiode (OLED) display, a digital light processing (DLP) display, asurface conductive electron emitter (SED) display, a field emissiondisplay (FED), a laser TV display, a carbon nanotubes display, a quantumdot display, an interferometric modulator display (IMOD), and a digitalmicroshutter display (DMS). The display is active in a full display modeor a multiplexed display mode (i.e., only part of the display is activeat a time).

The display 83 further includes integrated electrodes 85 that providethe sensors for the touch sense part of the touch screen display. Theelectrodes 85 are distributed throughout the display area or where touchscreen functionality is desired. For example, a first group of theelectrodes are arranged in rows and a second group of electrodes arearranged in columns. As will be discussed in greater detail withreference to one or more of FIGS. 9-12 , the row electrodes areseparated from the column electrodes by a dielectric material.

The electrodes 85 are comprised of a transparent conductive material andare in-cell or on-cell with respect to layers of the display. Forexample, a conductive trace is placed in-cell or on-cell of a layer ofthe touch screen display. The transparent conductive material, which issubstantially transparent and has negligible effect on video quality ofthe display with respect to the human eye. For instance, an electrode isconstructed from one or more of: Indium Tin Oxide, Graphene, CarbonNanotubes, Thin Metal Films, Silver Nanowires Hybrid Materials,Aluminum-doped Zinc Oxide (AZO), Amorphous Indium-Zinc Oxide,Gallium-doped Zinc Oxide (GZO), and poly polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT).

In an example of operation, the processing module 42 is executing anoperating system application 89 and one or more user applications 91.The user applications 91 includes, but is not limited to, a videoplayback application, a spreadsheet application, a word processingapplication, a computer aided drawing application, a photo displayapplication, an image processing application, a database application,etc. While executing an application 91, the processing module generatesdata for display (e.g., video data, image data, text data, etc.). Theprocessing module 42 sends the data to the video graphics processingmodule 48, which converts the data into frames of video 87.

The video graphics processing module 48 sends the frames of video 87(e.g., frames of a video file, refresh rate for a word processingdocument, a series of images, etc.) to the display interface 93. Thedisplay interface 93 provides the frames of video to the display 83,which renders the frames of video into visible images.

While the display 83 is rendering the frames of video into visibleimages, the drive-sense circuits (DSC) provide sensor signals to theelectrodes 85. When the screen is touched, capacitance of the electrodes85 proximal to the touch (i.e., directly or close by) is changed. TheDSCs detect the capacitance change for effected electrodes and providethe detected change to the touch screen processing module 82.

The touch screen processing module 82 processes the capacitance changeof the effected electrodes to determine one or more specific locationsof touch and provides this information to the processing module 42.Processing module 42 processes the one or more specific locations oftouch to determine if an operation of the application is to be altered.For example, the touch is indicative of a pause command, a fast forwardcommand, a reverse command, an increase volume command, a decreasevolume command, a stop command, a select command, a delete command, etc.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of a touchscreen display 80 that includes a plurality of drive-sense circuits(DSC), the processing module 42, a display 83, and a plurality ofelectrodes 85. The processing module 42 is executing an operating system89 and one or more user applications 91 to produce frames of data 87.The processing module 42 provides the frames of data 87 to the displayinterface 93. The touch screen display 80 operates similarly to thetouch screen display 80 of FIG. 4 with the above noted differences. Inan alternate embodiment, the touch screen displays of FIGS. 4 and 5 donot include a display but still include a touch sensory array ofelectrodes.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a sensor grid179 for three-dimensional imaging. The sensor grid 179 includes aplurality of sensors arranged in rows and columns, or in some otherpattern. The sensors sense specific areas of an item (e.g., a person, anobject, an animal, a touch pad, a thing, etc.) in a manner to produce aframe of sensor grid data 177. The number of frames per second of thesensor grid data 177 is dependent on the application. For example, ofsensing touches or hover movements, the frame rate is 100 Hz to 300 Hzor more.

In an example, the drive sense circuits provide signals in theultrasonic and/or radio frequency (RF) frequency range to the sensors.The sensors are positioned proximal to an item under test. As a specificexample, the item under test may be a body part and the sensors arereceiving ultrasonic signals to sense an ultrasound image of the bodypart. The reflection and/or refraction of the ultrasonic signals aredetected by the sensors, which causes an electrical characteristic(e.g., voltage, current, impedance, frequency response, reactance, etc.)of the sensors to change.

The drive sense circuit detect the change in the sensors to producedrive sense data. The processing module 42 and/or 82 of the computingdevice processes the drive sense data to produce reducedthree-dimensional data. The processing of drive sense data into reducedthree-dimensional data will be discussed with reference to one or moreof the subsequent figures.

FIG. 7A is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a capacitivegrid 180 of a touch screen of a computing device. The capacitive grid180 is formed by a plurality of column electrodes 85 c intersecting witha plurality of row electrodes 85 r. For each intersection of a row andcolumn electrode, a mutual capacitance (Cm) exists. In addition, eachelectrode (row and column) has a self-capacitance (Cs) with respect to aground reference of the touch screen. As such, the capacitive grid 180includes a plurality of mutual capacitances (Cm) and a plurality ofself-capacitances (Cs), where the number of mutual capacitances equalsthe number of rows multiplied by the number of columns and the numberself-capacitances equal the number of rows plus the number of columns.

FIG. 7B is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a capacitivegrid data 170 of a touch screen, which corresponds to the capacitivegrid 180 of FIG. 7A. The capacitive grid data 170 includes a capacitancevalue for each mutual capacitance of the capacitive grid 180 and foreach self-capacitance of the capacitive grid. In an alternativeembodiment, the capacitive grid data 170 includes a sub-set of themutual capacitances and/or a sub-set of the self-capacitances.

The capacitive grid data 170 is mapped to an x-y-z coordinate system(only x and y are shown in this figure). The x-y-z coordinate systemallows for stimulus of the touch screen, which are detected by changesto capacitance values of mutual capacitors and/or of self-capacitors, tobe mapped to a position on the touch screen. In particular, each mutualcapacitance has an x-y-z coordinate, where the z coordinate correspondsto the degree of capacitance change. Each self-capacitance has a x-zcoordinate (i.e., the self-capacitances along the x-axis) or a y-zcoordinate (i.e., the self-capacitances along the y-axis). Thecapacitive grid data 170 is created for each sampling interval of thetouch screen, which may vary from 30 Hz to 300 Hz or more.

In general, changes to the self and/or mutual capacitances result fromchanges in the dielectric properties of the capacitances. For example,when a human touches the screen, self-capacitance increases and mutualcapacitance decreases due the dielectric properties of the person andthe coupling of the person to the ground reference of the computingdevice. In another example, when an object is placed on the touch screenwithout a connection to ground, the mutual capacitances will increase ordecrease depending on the dielectric properties of the object. Thisallows for different types of objects to be identified.

In many instances, on a frame-by-frame basis of capacitance grid data,only a small portion of the mutual and/or self capacitances areaffected. Depending on the desired use of the capacitance grid data(e.g., detect a human touch, detect a pen touch, detect a hover, detectan object, detect a pattern, and/or detect an element of ascreen-to-screen communication), a full frame of capacitance grid datamay or may not be needed. The larger the touch screen, the morecapacitance values per frame, which yields a large amount of data to betransmitted per frame. To preserve (without loss or with an acceptablelevel of loss) the information contained in the capacitive grid data 170while reducing the amount of data being transmitted per frame, a varietyof data reduction schemes can be employed. The various schemes and themechanisms for determining how, when, and what to use will discussedwith reference to one or more of the following figures.

FIG. 8A is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a computingdevice 12, 14, or 18 that includes a touch screen 140, a plurality ofdrive sense circuits (DSC), a processing module 42 and/or 82, a datacommunication medium (e.g., a data pipe 142), and a data circuit 144.The touch screen 140 may be a stand-alone touch screen (i.e., includesrow and column electrodes, but no display function) or may be part of atouch screen display (e.g., 80 of FIG. 2, 90 of FIG. 3, 83 of FIG. 4and/or FIG. 5 ). The data communication medium may be a wire, a bus, aUSB connection, an HDMI connection, a wireless connection, an I2Cconnection, or other type of connection. Each physical connection mediumhas a corresponding data communication protocol, which define the dataformatting and prescribe a maximum data rate (e.g., x-bits per secondoutput data rate).

In an example of operation, the plurality of drive sense circuits (DSC)provides drive signals to the electrodes of the touch screen 140 anddetermines effects on the drive signals. The effects on the drivesignals correspond to the capacitance values of the self and mutualcapacitances of the capacitive grid of the touch screen and comprise thedrive sense data 146. The processing module 42 and/or 82 process thedrive sense data 146 to produce the capacitive grid data, which includesa capacitance value for at least some of the mutual capacitances andself-capacitances.

Depending on the intended use of the data, the output data rate of thedata pipe 142, and amount of capacitance grid data (which typicallycorresponds to the size of the touch screen and resolution of touchsensitivity (e.g., spacing between electrodes)), the processing module42 and/or 82 employs a data reduction scheme to produce reducedcapacitive grid data 148.

The data circuit 144 receives the reduced capacitive data 148 via thedata pipe 142 and produces touch screen data 150 therefrom. In general,the touch screen data 150 corresponds to the meaning of the changes ofthe capacitive grid data from frame to frame. For example, the meaningcorresponds to a touch, a hover, a pattern, an object, and/or ascreen-to-screen communication element.

In an example, the data circuit 144 is a video graphics processorcoupled to a display for processing and displaying the reducedcapacitive grid data 148 into a video graphics overlay (e.g., the touchscreen data 150) indicating a human touch, pen touch, and/or hover withrespect to an underlying graphic, image, or video. In another example,the data circuit 144 is a co-processor to process the reduced capacitivegrid data 148 to identify a pattern, which the pattern provides anidentification of an item. In yet another example, the data circuit 144is a storage service (e.g., cloud storage) for storing the touch screendata 150. One or more embodiments of the data circuit 144 will bediscussed with reference to one or more subsequent Figures.

FIG. 8B is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of acomputing device 12, 14, and/or 18 that is similar to the computingdevice of FIG. 8A with a difference being the data circuit 145 isexternal to the computing device. The data circuit 145 may be a varietyof devices. For example, the data circuit 145 is a remote display, whichincludes a video graphics processing module. As another example, thedata circuit 145 is another computing device. As yet another example,the data circuit 145 is a server of the communication system 10. As afurther example, the data circuit 145 is a remote storage device.

FIG. 9A is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a computingdevice 12 that includes a processing module 42 and/or 82, a datacommunication medium (e.g., a data pipe 142), a data circuit 144, and aplurality of drive sense circuits (DSC) coupled three-dimensional (3D)imaging sensors 151. The 3D imaging sensors 151 form an imaging sensorgrid to produce image grid data. In an embodiment, the image sensor gridis internal to the computing device and, in another embodiment, theimage sensor grid is external to the computing device.

In an example of operation, the plurality of drive sense circuits (DSC)provides drive signals (e.g., ultrasound and/or RF) to the 3D imagingsensors 151. An item being imaged by the 3D imaging sensors affects thesignals (e.g., reflects, refracts, and/or absorbs), which effects aredetected by the drive sense signals as changes in the drive signals. Theeffects on the drive signals correspond to electrical characteristics ofthe sensors (e.g., voltage, impedance, current, reactance, frequencyresponse, etc.) and comprise the drive sense data 147. The processingmodule 42 and/or 82 process the drive sense data 147 to produce the 3Dimage data, which includes electrical characteristic values for at leastsome of the sensors.

Depending on the intended use of the data, the output data rate of thedata pipe 142, and amount of 3D image data (which typically correspondsto the size of a 3D imaging grid and resolution of imaging sensitivity(e.g., spacing between sensors)), the processing module 42 and/or 82employs a data reduction scheme to produce reduced 3D imaging data 149.

The data circuit 144 receives the reduced 3D imaging data 149 via thedata pipe 142 and produces processed image data 153 therefrom. Ingeneral, the 3D imaging data 153 corresponds to the meaning of thechanges of the 3D imaging grid data from frame to frame. For example,the meaning corresponds to a movement of an item, topology of an item,etc.

In an example, the data circuit 144 is a video graphics processorcoupled to a display for processing and displaying the reduced 3Dimaging grid data 149 into a video graphics image (e.g., the processedimage data 153). In another example, the data circuit 144 is aco-processor to process the reduced 3D imaging grid data 149 to identifya pattern, anomalies, variances, and/or other factors of the image datawith reference to baseline image data. In yet another example, the datacircuit 144 is a storage service (e.g., cloud storage) for storing theprocessed image data 153.

FIG. 9B is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of acomputing device 12 that is similar to the computing device of FIG. 9Awith a difference being the data circuit 145 is external to thecomputing device. The data circuit 145 may be a variety of devices. Forexample, the data circuit 145 is a remote display, which includes avideo graphics processing module. As another example, the data circuit145 is another computing device. As yet another example, the datacircuit 145 is a server of the communication system 10. As a furtherexample, the data circuit 145 is a remote storage device.

FIG. 10 is logic diagram of an example of a method for touch screen datareduction that begins at step 200 where a processing module determines ause for the touch data (e.g., touch, hover, object recognition, patternrecognition, screen-to-screen communication and to what extent (e.g.,coordinate location, heat map, detailed, etc.)). The method continues atstep 202 where the processing module interacts with the touch screen togenerate drive sense data. In an embodiment, the processing modulegenerates a full screen of drive sense data for a first set of uses(e.g., touch, hover, etc. could be anywhere on the screen at any time).In another embodiment, the processing module generates drive sense datafor a portion of the screen for a second set of uses (e.g., touch,hover, etc. in specific locations on the screen). An example ofgenerating the drive sense data is discussed below with reference toFIGS. 11-13 .

The method at step 204 where the processing module generates capacitancegrid data based on the drive sense data. An example of this will bediscussed in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15 . Themethod continues at step 204 where the processing module determines ause for the capacitance grid data. The use includes one or more of touchdetection, hover detection, pattern recognition, object recognition,and/or screen-to-screen data communication. Examples of the various useswill be discussed with reference to one or more subsequent figures.

The method continues at step 206 where the processing module determinesdata requirements for the capacitance grid data based on the use andproperties of the capacitance grid. The data requirements include dataresolution of the touch screen (e.g., number of mutual capacitances andnumber of self-capacitances), bits per sample of the capacitance griddata, frame rate of the capacitance grid data, use of self-capacitancevalues, use of mutual capacitance values, and/or data rate of a frame ofthe capacitance grid data. Examples of the data requirements will bediscussed with reference to one or more subsequent figures.

The method continues at step 208 where the processing module determinesthe output data rate. For example, the processing module determines(e.g., obtains, looks up, queries, etc.) the bits per second rate of thedata pipe 142. The method continues at step 210 where the processingmodule determines whether data reduction is enabled. In an example, theprocessing module enables the data reduction when the output data ratecannot support the data requirements. In another example, the processingmodule enables the data reduction based on receiving an input signalfrom a user of the computing device, from a system administrator of thecommunication system, and/or based on a default setting.

When the data reduction is not enabled, the method continues at step 212where the processing module outputs the capacitive grid data withoutdata reduction to the data circuit 144 and/or 145. When the datareduction is enabled, the method continues at step 214 where theprocessing module determines a data reduction scheme based on the datarequirements and the output data rate. The data reduction schemeincludes a data elimination scheme and/or a data compression scheme. Thedetermining of the data reduction scheme is discussed in greater detailwith at least reference to FIGS. 16 and 17 .

The method continues at step 216 where the processing module processesthe capacitance grid data in accordance with the data reduction schemeto produce reduced capacitive gird data. The method continues at step218 where the processing module provides (e.g., sends, transmits, storesand subsequent retrieval, etc.) the reduced capacitive grid data to adata circuit.

FIG. 11 illustrates a logic diagram of an example of a method forgenerating drive sense data. The method begins at step 220 where theprocessing module provides a self-capacitance signal to the drive sensecircuits at step 220. An example of the self-capacitance signal is shownin FIG. 12 . In this example, the self-capacitance signal is asinusoidal signal having a frequency in the range of tens of KHz tohundreds of MHz.

Returning to the example method of FIG. 11 , the method continues atstep 222 where the processing module provides a plurality of mutualcapacitance signals to a first set of the drive sense circuits. Anexample of the mutual capacitance signals is shown in FIG. 13 . In thisexample, the mutual capacitance signals are sinusoidal signals havingdifferent frequencies from each other and from the self-capacitancesignal, with frequencies in the range of tens of KHz to hundreds of MHz,or more.

Returning to the example method of FIG. 11 , the method continues atstep 224 where the processing module receives self-capacitance data fromthe drive sense circuits, where the self-capacitance data includes aplurality of self-capacitance values. The example method continues atstep 226 where the processing module receives mutual capacitance datafrom a second set of the drive sense circuits, wherein the mutualcapacitance data includes a plurality of mutual capacitance values. Theexample method continues at step 228 where the processing modulegenerates the drive sense data from the self and mutual capacitancedata.

FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a drive sensecircuit 28 that includes a first conversion circuit 110 and a secondconversion circuit 112. The first conversion circuit 110 converts asensor signal 116 into a sensed signal 120. The second conversioncircuit 112 generates the drive signal component 114 from the sensedsignal 112. As an example, the first conversion circuit 110 functions tokeep the sensor signal 116 substantially constant (e.g., substantiallymatching a reference signal) by creating the sensed signal 120 tocorrespond to changes in a receive signal component 118 of the sensorsignal. The second conversion circuit 112 functions to generate a drivesignal component 114 of the sensor signal based on the sensed signal 120to substantially compensate for changes in the receive signal component118 such that the sensor signal 116 remains substantially constant.

In an example, the drive signal 116 is provided to the electrode 85 as aregulated current signal. The regulated current (I) signal incombination with the impedance (Z) of the electrode creates an electrodevoltage (V), where V=I*Z. As the impedance (Z) of electrode changes, theregulated current (I) signal is adjusted to keep the electrode voltage(V) substantially unchanged. To regulate the current signal, the firstconversion circuit 110 adjusts the sensed signal 120 based on thereceive signal component 118, which is indicative of the impedance ofthe electrode and change thereof. The second conversion circuit 112adjusts the regulated current based on the changes to the sensed signal120.

As another example, the drive signal 116 is provided to the electrode 85as a regulated voltage signal. The regulated voltage (V) signal incombination with the impedance (Z) of the electrode creates an electrodecurrent (I), where I=V/Z. As the impedance (Z) of electrode changes, theregulated voltage (V) signal is adjusted to keep the electrode current(I) substantially unchanged. To regulate the voltage signal, the firstconversion circuit 110 adjusts the sensed signal 120 based on thereceive signal component 118, which is indicative of the impedance ofthe electrode and change thereof. The second conversion circuit 112adjusts the regulated voltage based on the changes to the sensed signal120.

In an embodiment, the first conversion circuit 110 includes a comparator(comp) and an analog to digital converter 130 and the second conversioncircuit 112 includes a digital to analog converter 132, a signal sourcecircuit 133, and a driver. In an example of operation, the comparatorcompares the sensor signal 116 to an analog reference signal 122 toproduce an analog comparison signal 124. The analog reference signal 124includes a DC component and an oscillating component. As such, thesensor signal 116 will have a substantially matching DC component andoscillating component. An example of an analog reference signal 122 willbe described in greater detail with reference to FIG. 15 .

The analog to digital converter 130 converts the analog comparisonsignal 124 into the sensed signal 120. The analog to digital converter(ADC) 130 may be implemented in a variety of ways. For example, the(ADC) 130 is one of: a flash ADC, a successive approximation ADC, aramp-compare ADC, a Wilkinson ADC, an integrating ADC, a delta encodedADC, and/or a sigma-delta ADC. The digital to analog converter (DAC) 214may be a sigma-delta DAC, a pulse width modulator DAC, a binary weightedDAC, a successive approximation DAC, and/or a thermometer-coded DAC.

The digital to analog converter (DAC) 132 converts the sensed signal 120into an analog feedback signal 126. The signal source circuit 133 (e.g.,a dependent current source, a linear regulator, a DC-DC power supply,etc.) generates a regulated source signal 135 (e.g., a regulated currentsignal or a regulated voltage signal) based on the analog feedbacksignal 126. The driver increases power of the regulated source signal135 to produce the drive signal component 114. In an alternateembodiment, the digital to analog converter 132 and/or the analog todigital converter 130 may be omitted from the DSC. If omitted from theDSC, the processing module would include at least an analog to digitalconverter.

FIG. 15 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of drive sensecircuits interacting with electrodes 85 and a processing module 42and/or 82 to produce drive sense data. As shown, the gray-shaded drivesense circuits (DSC) are coupled to column electrodes 85 c and thewhite-shaded DSCs are coupled to row electrodes 85 r. Each electrode hasits own self-capacitance (Csc1 and Csc2 for the column electrodes andCsr1 and Csr2 for the row electrodes). Each intersection of a row andcolumn electrode produces a mutual capacitance (Cm11, Cm12, Cm21, andCm22).

The processing module 42 and/or 82 is configured to include an analogreference signal source for a first mutual capacitance drive signal(M1DS), an analog reference signal source for a second mutualcapacitance drive signal (M2DS), and an analog reference signal sourcefor a self-capacitance drive signal (SDS). The processing module 42and/or 82 is further configure to include a digital filtering circuitfor the self-capacitance value of the first column electrode (Csc1), adigital filtering circuit for the self-capacitance value of the secondcolumn electrode (Csc2), a digital filtering circuit for theself-capacitance value of the first-row electrode (Csr1), and a digitalfiltering circuit for the self-capacitance value of the second-rowelectrode (Csr2). The processing module is still further configured toincludes a digital filtering circuit for the mutual-capacitance value ofthe first column and first row electrode intersection (Cm11), a digitalfiltering circuit for the mutual-capacitance value of the first columnand second row electrode intersection (Cm21), a digital filteringcircuit for the mutual-capacitance value of the second column and firstrow electrode intersection (Cm12), and a digital filtering circuit forthe mutual-capacitance value of the second column and second rowelectrode intersection (Cm22).

The digital filtering circuit may be implemented in a variety of ways.For example, the digital filtering circuit is implemented as a bandpassfilter. As another example, the digital filtering circuit is implementedas a decimation filter followed by a bandpass filter.

In an example of operation, the processing module 42 and/or 82 providesthe self-capacitance drive signal (SDS) to each of the drive sensecircuits (DSC). The DSC drive the signal (SDS) on to their respectiveelectrodes. The self-capacitance of the electrode affects the drivesignal (SDS), which the DSC detects (SDS′). When no external stimulus ispresent (e.g., no touch, no hover, etc.), the self-capacitance will beat a first value. When an external stimulus is present, theself-capacitance will be a second value. The respective values arereflected in effect on the drive signal (SDS′). The respective digitalfiltering circuits produce data C1, C2, R1, and R2, which are digitalrepresentations of the effects on the drive signals.

The processing module 42 and/or 82 provides the first and second mutualcapacitance drive signals (M1DS and M2DS) to the first set of drivesense circuits (DSC); the gray-shaded DSCs. The first set of DSCs drivetheir respective mutual capacitance drive signal (M1DS or M2DS) onto itsrespective electrode. The mutual capacitance drive signals are coupledvia the mutual capacitances to a row electrode. The DSC circuits (e.g.,the second set) coupled to the row electrodes receive the mutualcapacitance signals via the mutual capacitance between the row electrodeand the columns as M1DS' and M2DS′.

The digital filtering circuits for Cm11, Cm12, Cm21, and Cm22 filter theM1DS' and M2DS' signals received from their respective drive sensecircuits to produce mutual capacitance data 11, 12, 21, and 22. Themutual capacitance data and the self-capacitance data C1, C2, R1, and R2and/or their analog inputs constitute the drive sense data.

FIG. 16 is logic diagram of an example of a method of data reductionthat begins at step 230 where the processing module determines whetherall of the capacitance grid data is needed for the particular use of thetouch screen data. For example, when the use is detecting a touch in aspecific area of the screen, only the capacitive grid data of the areais needed per frame. As another example, when the use is object and/orpattern recognition that could take place anywhere on the screen andchange location at any time, then all of the capacitive grid data isneeded per frame.

When all of the capacitive grid data is not needed, the method continuesat step 232 where the processing module determines how much of the griddata is needed. For example, the grid location for one or more specificareas for detecting a touch, hover, etc. The method continues at step234 where the processing module generates only the needed capacitivegrid data or extracts the needed capacitive grid data from a full screenof capacitive grid data.

After step 234 or when all of the capacitive grid data per frame isneeded, the method continues at step 236 where the processing moduledetermines when the data reduction can be lossy (e.g., the gridcapacitive data is reproducible, but with some loss of information).When the data reduction cannot be lossy (i.e., lossless such that thegrid capacitive data is reproducible with negligible to no loss ofinformation), the method continues at step 246 where the processingmodule selects a lossless data reduction process. One or more examplesof selecting a lossless data reduction process is discussed withreference to FIGS. 20A-20D.

The method continues at step 248 where the processing module determineswhether the processing module determines whether the selected losslessdata reduction process will reduce the data to a desired data rate(e.g., at or below the output data rate). If yes, the method continuesat step 242 where the processing module outputs the reduced capacitivegrid data. If not, the method continues at step 246 where the processingmodule selects a different data reduction process or selects acomplimentary data reduction processing (e.g., use two or more datareduction processes to achieve the desired data rate).

When the data reduction can be lossy per step 236, the method continuesat step 238 where the processing module selects a lossy data reductionprocess. One or more examples of selecting a lossy data reductionprocess will be described with reference to FIGS. 20A-20D. The methodcontinues at step 240 where the processing module determines whether theselected data reduction process will achieve the desired data rate. Ifyes, the method continues at step 242 where the processing moduleoutputs the reduced capacitive grid data.

If not, the method continues at step 244 where the processing moduledetermines whether to combine the selected lossy data reductionprocessing with another lossy data reduction process. If not, the methodcontinues at step 246. If yes, the method continues at step 238. Oncethe desired data rate is achieved, the reduced capacitive grid data isoutputted.

FIGS. 16A-16D are examples of various touch screen interactions and datarequirements. FIG. 16A illustrates a touch screen 140 have two specificbuttons 233: one for on and the other for off. To detect activation of abutton, the x-y coordinates of touch (all coordinates of the touch orits center coordinates) within the specific area of the button is neededto detect activation of a button. As such, only a portion of the touchscreen needs to be monitored and a small amount of data (i.e., less thanfull capacitive grid data) is needed to indicate a touch or no touch inthe specific areas of the buttons. Thus, any data reduction of thecapacitive grid data within the specific area 233 can be lossy.

FIG. 16B illustrates a touch screen 140 having a biometric touch area235. Within this area 235, a person's finger print is read. As such,full capacitive grid data with the specific area is needed to properlyread a finger print. Any data reduction of the capacitive grid datawithin the specific area 235 should be lossless.

FIG. 16C illustrates a touch screen 140 on which one or more objects maybe placed and are to be recognized. In this example, a first object withfirst dielectric properties is in a first position and a second objectwith second dielectric properties is in a second position. The differingdielectric properties cause different capacitance changes to capacitivegrid. From the capacitance changes, the dielectric properties can bedetermined, which allows the object to be identified. In this instance,a full screen of capacitive gird data is needed per frame with full datarequirements. Thus, any data reduction should be lossless.

FIG. 16D illustrates a touch screen 140 on which multiple touches canoccur anywhere on the screen and heat map data of the touches isdesired. In this example, the touches could be anywhere on the screen,thus the full capacitive grid data is needed. Since the data desired isa heat map, data reduction can be lossy.

FIG. 17 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a touch screen140 and a processing module 42 and/or 82 of a computing device 12, 14,and/or 18. The processing module 42 and/or 82 is configured to include acapacitance processing circuit 164, a data reduction processing circuit165, a data reduction decision module 166, a data buffer module 169, andmultiplexors.

In an example of operation, data use 160 is an input for determining thedata requirements 162. In combination with the data output rate of thedata pipe 142, the data requirements 162 and the data use 160 are inputsfor determining whether data reduction is needed and, if it is,determining how to implement it. Examples of determining the datarequirements and the data reduction scheme are discussed with referenceto one or more subsequent figures.

With the data reduction scheme determined, the capacitance processingcircuit 164 receives drive sense data 146 from the touch screen. Thecapacitance processing circuit 164 processes the drive sense data 146 toproduce capacitance grid data 170 for the full touch screen or selectedportions thereof based on an input from the data reduction decisionmodule. As an example, and as discussed with reference to FIG. 14 , thedrive sense data includes an impedance value for a particularcapacitance of the capacitance grid. The capacitance processing circuit164 converts the impedance value into a capacitance value based theequation Zc=1/SC, where Zc is the impedance of the capacitor, C is thecapacitance of the capacitor, and S equals 2*π*f. The bit resolution ofthe capacitance value can be in the range of 8 bits to 64 bits or more.

If the data reduction decision module 166 determines that the capacitivegrid data does not need to be reduced, the data reduction processingcircuit 165 passes the capacitive grid data 170 to the data pipe 142.If, however, the data reduction decision module 166 determines that thecapacitive grid data does need to be reduced, it selects a datareduction scheme, which includes one or more data reduction processes.

For a single data reduction process, the data reduction module 168performs the specific data reduction process on the capacitive grid datato produce reduced capacitive grid data 148, which is outputted to thedata pipe 142. For multiple data reduction processes, the data reductionmodule 168 performs a first data reduction process on the capacitivegrid data 170 to produce initial reduced capacitive grid data 172, whichis stored in the data buffer module 169. The data reduction module 168performs a second data reduction process on the initial reducedcapacitive grid data 172 to produce the reduced capacitive grid data148.

FIG. 18 is a schematic block diagram of an example of data use 160, datarequirements 162, output data rate 200, and data reduction schemes 202feeding the data reduction decision module 166. The data reductiondecision module 166 uses the particular information of the data use, thedata requirements, and the output data rate to select one or more datareduction processes. In this example, the data uses of a touch screeninclude a touch (person and/or pen in physical contact with the touchscreen), a hover (person and/or pen in close proximity to the touchscreen but not in physical contact), object recognition, patternrecognition, and/or screen-to-screen communication (STS) elementprocessing.

For object and/or pattern recognition, an object or pattern includes oneor more dielectric, impedance, current, and/or voltage characteristicsthat, when proximal to the touch screen, causes capacitance changes inthe capacitive grid. If the object or pattern includes a ground pathconnection, both self and mutual capacitances will be effected. If theobject or pattern does not include a ground path connection, only mutualcapacitances will be effected. Based on the capacitance changes, thedielectric, impedance, current, and/or voltage characteristics can bedetermined, which can then be used to identify an object and/or apattern.

For screen-to-screen communication, a transmitting touch screen isdriven via the drive senses circuits with a particular arrangement ofdrive signals to represent a communication element (e.g., a bit of data,a byte of data, a coded communication signal, etc.). At a particularcommunication rate, the particular arrangement of drive signals ischanged to represent different communication elements. When a receivingtouch screen is proximal to the transmitting touch screen, thecapacitive grid of the receiving touch screen is effected by theparticular arrangement of drive signals to produce changes in thecapacitive grid data.

The uses can be enabled singularly or in combinations. For example,touch and hover are concurrently enabled. As another example, touch andobject recognition are concurrently enabled. As yet another example,touch and screen-to-screen communication are concurrently enabled. Forother types of 3D sensing systems, the uses may include one or more of3D imaging, data storage, image rendering, comparative analysis,interpretative analysis, etc.

The data requirements 162 includes one or more of data resolution,bits/sample, frame rate, self-capacitance data, mutual capacitance, anddata rate. FIGS. 19 and 19A illustrate examples of data requirements.

The output data rate 200 is shown to include 5 data rates (i.e., datarate 1-5). In practice, more or less data rates may be used. Further,the output data rate 200 is tied to the type of communication mediumbeing used. For example, USB has a first data rate, a wireless localarea network connection has a second data rate, an internet connectionhas a third data rate, an I2C connection has a fourth data rate, and soon.

The data reduction 202 includes lossy data reduction processes (grayshaded) and lossless data reduction processes (white shaded). The lossydata reduction processes include Principal Component Analysis (PCA),contour mapping, frame rate adjustment, a filtering, region of interest(ROI), and/or clustering. The lossless data reduction processes includedMotion Picture Expert Group (MPEG), mu-law, a-law, and Run LengthEncoding (RLE). Note that there can be more of less data reductionprocesses than presently shown.

As an example of frame rate adjustment, the frame rate of the capacitivegrid data is reduced from 300 Hz rate 100 Hz, 200 Hz, or other framerate to reduce the number of frames of capacitive grid data per second.

As an example of filtering, undesired touches are attenuated (i.e.,filtered out) and desired touches are passed substantially unattenuated.As a specific example, the side of a hand touch is filtered out and thepen touch is not. As another example of filtering, a group ofcapacitances changes is filtered to a centered x-y coordinate. As aspecific example, a touch that changes capacitance of several self andmutual capacitances is reduced to a single x-y coordinate approximatelycentered in the grouping of mutual capacitances. As yet another exampleof filtering, touch uses self-capacitance values and does not use someor all of the mutual capacitance values.

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is a machine-learning technique thatprojects a data set onto a linear combination of another smaller datasetcall Principal Components. This reduces the dimensionality of data byseeking to preserve the data with maximum variation in just a fewcomponents. In other words, PCA preserves information as defined bymaximum variance, which is useful in finding the data that most describethe information. It separates the information into structural and noisefactors, so it is inherently low noise.

Determining the number of Principal Components to keep is done bykeeping the components that explain the most variance in the data. Forexample, the Eigen Values from a Singular Value Decomposition (SVD), orother Eigen decomposition, of the correlation or covariance matrix ofthe image is included in a Principal Component. The Principal Componentwith the largest Eigen value is called the first Principal component andexplains the most amount of variation in the data. For example, a dataset after a CPA operation could have the first Principal Componentexplain roughly 45% of the data while the second Principal Componentexplains about 25% of the data. Those two components combined explainabout 70% of the data. As such, an image (e.g., a frame of capacitivegrid data) is reduced by PCA into two components whose length is equalto the number of rows in the image (or columns). Parameters and thecomponents from the PCA are transmitted and used to reconstruct theimage while preserving most of the information. If a greater degree ofinformation is needed, more Principal Components can be retained. Howmany components to be retained can be a function of a set minimum ofpercentage of variance explained, the minimum level of variationdifferences between the components (i.e. when the difference between theEigen values of the Principal Components is small, stop retaining them),a fixed number retained regardless of variance, etc.

In an example, a PCA or SVD function is performed. In particular,Principal component analysis (PCA) is usually explained via anEigen-decomposition of the covariance or correlation matrix. However, itcan also be performed via singular value decomposition (SVD) of the datamatrix X in SVD, X is represented as X-USV^(T), where right singularvectors V are principal directions and singular values are related tothe eigenvalues of covariance matrix. Principal components are given byXV=USV^(T)V=US.

Next, determine the number of principal components (PC's) to keep. Onemethod is to look at the Eigen values of the PC's that represent thevariance explained in the data by that component. Keep the componentsthat explain a pre-specified percentage of the variance(i.e., >50%, >70%, >90%, etc.). Another method is to always keep a setnumber of PC's based on the total number modelled. Another is to lookfor a ‘jump’ in the Eigen value differentials and keep the PC's up tothat jump.

u-Law and a-Law compression have been used in communications. It is atechnique that compresses the linear or logarithmic value of the data(usually audio data). It is a companding (e.g., compress and expand)technique that can expand 8-bit data to effectively higher bits. Ingeneral, u-Law and a-Law compression have a compression ratio of about2:1.

For example:

Input Range Output Range Step Size  0 to 31  0 to 31 1 32 to 94 32 to 632  96 to 220 64 to 95 4 224 to 472  96 to 127 8 480 to 976 128 to 159 16 992 to 1984 160 TO 191 32 2016 to 4000 192 to 223 64 4064 to 8032 224to 255 126

Region of Interest (ROI) is useful in reducing the data by onlytransmitting a smaller region the encompasses the area where dataexisting. For example, capacitive grid data indicates five touches. Onlyfive small bounding boxes that encompass the touches would betransmitted. The compression ratio of ROI is dependent on how much ofthe screen is being omitted. As such, ROI is can achieve compressionratios greater than 10:1.

Clustering K-Means ROI (clustering) is a machine-learning technique thatseeks to find the clusters of data within a larger data set. There aremany algorithms for clustering of which K-Means is popular. Theclustering algorithm seeks to find data in clusters by comparing thedistances between centroids and surrounding data. This is useful inclumping data together into arbitrarily shaped regions. This is moreprocessor intensive than the bounding box approach, but it is moreselective.

RLE, and MPEG are techniques commonly used for video compression andwork well especially when the data is first de-noised by PCA, Filtering,Thresholding, etc. They work by transmitting only the differences in thedata. For example, in a de-noised image only the areas where there isdata separate from the background get transmitted. The data compressionratio for MPEG is up to 200:1. RLE can have compression ratios of 2:1 ormore, depending on the variance of the data within a frame of thecapacitive grid data.

Edge reduction takes an image and reduces it to an edge outline ofcapacitance changes (e.g., touches, hovers, objects, patterns, STScommunication element). An edge outline is simply the edge detection ofa flattened 2D binary image (or a 3D or color image that has beenflattened to binary levels first). This gives the structure of theobject (touch, hand, keyboard, etc.) in and X_Y plane. This informationis very small and useful for downstream processing when doing imageclassification or other image processing techniques.

Contour reduction takes an image and reduces it to a contour outlineresembling a topological map. Contour reduction can be thought of as“slicing” a 3D image into multiple 2D planes and getting the edgeoutline of each plane. The individual planes are then combined into asingle 2D binarized plane showing all the outline information. Thiscontour map contains richer information about the structure of theobject than the simple edge outline. The levels of the slices can bepre-determined based on set dynamic range criteria or automatic based onthe variation of the dynamic range. Once an image has been binarizedwith these techniques, only the locations and associated level of theactive pixels are transmitted. A typical image processing pipeline wouldlook at the 2D slice, binarized it by thresholding, perform erosion forde-noising, perform dilation for fill in the retained information, doedge detection to get the contour. Note that all the binarized data canbe retained is necessary. It can also be used as a filter for ROIprocessing (see next section) or other filtering needs.

As an example, an image is reduced to binary levels (i.e., binarized orflattened) using standard morphological techniques (thresholding, % datakept, etc.). Next, erosion is performed to reduce noise and removeunconnected pixels (edged detection/contour creation can be performedhere by subtracting the eroded image from the original image). Next,dilation is performed to fill in and smooth out blobs (edgedetection/contour creation can be performed here by subtracting theoriginal image from the dilated image). Next, create contours using anyof the various edge detection techniques (sobel, canny, gradient, etc.).This can also be applied to grayscale images. The contour information istransmitted—typically the coordinates and level of ‘white’ pixels.

As another example, an image is sliced into a “n” number of planes. Theplanes can be defined at predetermined levels based on certain criteriaor dynamically assigned. The levels can be determined on a linear,logarithmic or other scale. AU values between levels would be flattenedto a level (typically the upper level). From there, the contour of eachlevel is found. The level and contour information is transmitted. Notethat the contours can be flattened into a single 2D representation likea topological map. More examples of contour reduction will be discussedwith reference to one or more of FIGS. 35-63 .

FIG. 19 is a schematic block diagram of an example of data requirementsthat includes data resolution, bits/sample, frame rate,self-capacitance, mutual capacitance, and data rate, which is a functionof the other data requirements factors. In this example, the dataresolution corresponds to the number of rows and columns of a touchscreen, which create the capacitive grid. With 5-millimeter spacingbetween the electrodes (rows and columns), a 2″×5″ touch screen has 10rows and 25 columns; a 6″×10″ touch screen has 30 rows and 50 columns; a9″×12″ touch screen (15″ screen) has 45 rows and 60 columns; a15.7″×27.9″ touch screen (32″ screen) has 80 rows and 140 columns; a27″×47.9″ touch screen (55″ screen) has 136 rows and 243 columns; and a41.7″×74.1″ touch screen (85″ screen) has 211 rows and 376 columns.

In this example, the bits/sample (e.g., capacitance value per mutualcapacitance and self-capacitance) is 8 bps, 16 bps, 24 bps, 32 bps, 48bps, or 64 bps. The frame rate (e.g., number of capacitive grid data persecond) is shown to be 30/s, 100/s, 200/s, or 300/s. Note that otherbits/sample and frame rates may be used in practice.

The data requirements further include whether to includesself-capacitance or not and whether to include mutual capacitance ornot. For example, when a ground path connection is not present, there isminimal need for self-capacitance values, so they may be omitted. Asanother example, when there is a ground path connection, mutualcapacitance values may be omitted based on the user.

The data rate is a function of the other data requirements. FIG. 19A isan example of specific data requirements yielding a data rate. In thisexample, the data resolution is 136×243, the bits/second is 48, theframe rate is 300/s, self-capacitance values are to be included, andmutual capacitance values are to be included. With a resolution of136×243 there are 33,048 mutual capacitors in the capacitive grid (e.g.,136*243) and 379 self-capacitors (e.g., 136+243). With 48 bits/sample aframe of capacitive grid data includes approximately 1.604 Mega-bits. At300 frames per second, that yields 481.3 Mbps.

FIG. 20A is a schematic block diagram of an example of indexing a datareduction look up table (LUT) to determine a data reduction scheme. Datause (type, screen, and nature), data requirements (DR), and output datarate (ODR) establish an index for accessing a look up table of datareduction schemes. A data reduction scheme includes one or more datareduction processes. For example, a first indexable data reductionscheme includes a data reduction process of PCA (principal componentanalysis); a second indexable data reduction scheme includes a datareduction process of PCA and CM (contour mapping); a third indexabledata reduction scheme includes a data reduction process of CM; and soon. Note that the LUT may include more or less data reduction processesthan included in this example and may include more less combinations ofdata reduction processes.

The data type of data uses include touch, hover, object recognition(OR), pattern recognition (PR), and screen-to-screen communication(STS). The screen of the data uses include full screen (FS) and partialscreen (PS) (e.g., one or more button, an identification area, etc.).The data nature of the data uses include location, heat map, and detail.Depending on the desired use of the touch data, the data use types,screen, and data use nature may be in any combination. For example, fora button activation, the use type is touch, the screen is partial, andthe use nature is location. For these conditions, only x-y coordinatesof a touch in a specific area need to be captured, transmitted, andsubsequently processed. Thus, the data requirements would be relativelylow (e.g., less than y Mbps, where “y” is any number greater than 0).Depending on the output data rate, the particular data reduction schemeis selected.

As an example of an indexing function, data use type is represented by3-bits, data use screen is represented by 1-bit, data requirements isrepresented by 2 or more bits, and output data rate is represented by eor more bits. Thus, an index includes 8 or more bits with the first3-bits corresponding to data use type, the next bit corresponding todata use screen, the next 2 or more bits corresponding to datarequirements, and the last 2 or more bits corresponding to the outputdata rate. Particular data schemes are placed in the LUT to correspondto a desired index value. A few examples are shown in FIGS. 20B-20D.

FIG. 20B is a schematic block diagram of a specific example of indexinga data reduction look up table (LUT). In this example, the data useincludes touch as a type, partial screen (PS) as a screen, and locationas a nature. With touch having a 001 3-bit pattern, PS having a 0 1-bitpattern, and location having 01 2-bit pattern, the first six bits of theindex are 001 0 01. The data requirements (DR) are less than y Mbps,which has a 2-bit pattern of 01. The output data rate (ODR) is less than“a” Mbps, which has a 2-bit pattern of 01. Thus, the 8-bit index is 0010 01 01 01. In this example, the data reduction scheme at index 001 0 0101 01 is PCA. Note that a variety of data reduction schemes could bechosen for these index inputs based on processing resources, datareduction processes available, design preferences, and/or other factors.

FIG. 20C is a schematic block diagram of another specific example ofindexing a data reduction look up table (LUT). In this example, the datause includes touch as a type, full screen (FS) as a screen, and heat mapas a nature. With touch having a 001 3-bit pattern, FS having a 1 1-bitpattern, and heat map having 10 2-bit pattern, the first six bits of theindex are 001 1 10. The data requirements (DR) are greater than x Mbps,which has a 2-bit pattern of 11. The output data rate (ODR) is between“a” Mbps and “b” Mbps, which has a 2-bit pattern of 10. Thus, the 8-bitindex is 001 1 10 11 10. In this example, the data reduction scheme atindex 001 1 10 11 10 is PCA plus CM.

FIG. 20D is a schematic block diagram of another specific example ofindexing a data reduction look up table (LUT). In this example, the datause includes STS as a type, full screen (FS) as a screen, and detail asa nature. With STS having a 101 3-bit pattern, FS having a 1 1-bitpattern, and detail having 11 2-bit pattern, the first six bits of theindex are 101 1 11. The data requirements (DR) are greater than x Mbps,which has a 2-bit pattern of 11. The output data rate (ODR) is less than“a” Mbps, which has a 2-bit pattern of 01. Thus, the 8-bit index is 1011 11 11 01. In this example, the data reduction scheme at index 101 1 1111 01 is MPEG.

FIG. 21 is a schematic block diagram of an example of a frame ofcapacitance grid data that includes a plurality of mutual capacitances(Cm) and a plurality of self-capacitances (Cs). The capacitances arearranged in rows and columns corresponding to the electrode rows andelectrode columns. Recall that an intersection of a row electrode and acolumn electrode for a mutual capacitance; the row electrode has aself-capacitance with respect to a ground path; and the column electrodehas a self-capacitance with respect to the ground path.

The dark shaded capacitances indicate a capacitance change from abaseline capacitance value (capacitance value without an externalstimulus). The light gray shaded mutual capacitances are approximatelyequal to their baseline capacitance value and the white shadedself-capacitances are approximately equal to their baseline capacitancevalue.

A variety of techniques can be used to reduce the data for this frame ofcapacitive grid data. For example, as shown in FIG. 22 , the frame ofcapacitive grid data can be reduced to x-y coordinates for a touch. Inthis example, the x-y coordinates correspond to an approximate center ofeach touch. The larger touch is centered at x2, y2 and the smaller touchis centered at x1, y1. Thus, for this frame of capacitive grid data, thedata can be reduced to the x and y coordinates for the two touches.

FIG. 23 is an example for reducing data of hovers. In this example, thex-y-z coordinates for the hover are determined and sent as the frame ofcapacitive grid data. The x-y coordinates indicate the position on thetouch screen and the z-coordinate corresponds to a distance from thetouch screen. FIG. 24 illustrates an example of x-z coordinates ofcapacitance grid data caused by the hovers of FIG. 23 . FIG. 25illustrates an example of y-z coordinates of capacitance grid datacaused by the hovers of FIG. 23 .

FIG. 26 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y coordinates ofcapacitance grid data caused by a pattern, an object, and/or ascreen-to-screen communication element. In this example, there is aground path connection between the item causing the capacitance changeand the touch screen. As such, self and mutual capacitances are changed.For pattern recognition, the pattern could be created by an item placedon the screen with a marking to provide the pattern. For example, anitem has a serial number stenciled on it, where the stenciled serialnumber is done using a material that affects proximal capacitances ofthe capacitive grid. The pattern could also be created via signalingthat affects the proximal capacitances of the capacitive grid.

For object recognition, an object includes one or more materials thataffect proximal capacitances of the capacitive grid. The manner in whichthe objects affect the proximal capacitances are used to identify theobject.

For screen to screen communication, signaling from one device iscommunicated through the body to another device. As such, both touch andsignal recognition are active. In another embodiment, the devices are ina proximal position to each other such that signaling on the electrodegrid of one device is received by the electrode grid of the otherdevice.

The amount of data to convey a frame of capacitive grid data for each ofpattern recognition, object recognition, and screen to screencommunication can vary greater. For example, the x-y-z coordinates ofthe affected capacitances is sent. As another example, the entirecapacitive grid data per frame is sent.

FIG. 27 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y coordinates ofcapacitance grid data caused by a pattern, an object, and/or ascreen-to-screen communication element similar to the example of FIG. 26with a difference being the example of FIG. 27 does not include a groundpath. As such, only the mutual capacitances are effected by the object,pattern, and/or STS communication. In this example, there is no need tosend the capacitance values for the self-capacitances of the electrodes.

FIG. 28 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-z coordinates ofcapacitance grid data caused by a pattern, an object, and/or ascreen-to-screen communication element of the examples of FIGS. 26 and27 . FIG. 29 is a schematic block diagram of an example of y-zcoordinates of capacitance grid data caused by a pattern, an object,and/or a screen-to-screen communication element of the examples of FIGS.26 and 27 .

FIG. 30 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y coordinates ofcapacitance grid data caused by a pattern, an object, and/or ascreen-to-screen (STS) communication element and a concurrent touchand/or hover. This example is a combination of FIG. 27 and FIGS. 21and/or 23 . In this instance, the pattern, object, and/or STScommunication element has different data requirements than the touchand/or hover. As such, the capacitive grid data for the touch and/orhover is processed as discussed with reference to FIGS. 21 and/or 23 andthe capacitive grid data for the pattern, object, and/or STScommunication element is processed as discussed with reference to FIG.27 .

FIG. 31 is a schematic block diagram of an example of capacitance griddata caused by a touch, a hover, a pattern, an object, and/or ascreen-to-screen communication element within a region of interest. Asshown, the region of interest surrounds the capacitance effect (darkshaded capacitances) to ensure that the entire capacitance effect iscaptured. In addition, the region of interest is used for anticipatingmovement of the capacitance effect from frame to frame. For region ofinterest, the capacitive grid data includes the mutual capacitancevalues and/or the self-capacitance values associated with the grid.

FIG. 32 is a schematic block diagram of an example of filtering thecapacitance grid data. In this example, the capacitances are affected bya desired touch and by an undesired touch. For example, the desiredtouch is a pen touch and the undesired touch is a hand resting on thescreen. In this instance, the touches are classified into desired orundesired touches. The undesired touches are filtered (e.g., at leastpartially attenuated such that they are treated as non-touches). Thedesired touches are used substantially unattenuated. FIG. 33 illustratesthe undesired touch of FIG. 32 being filtered. In this example, theundesired touch is filtered to represent a non-touch (i.e., remove thecapacitance change from the capacitive grid data).

FIG. 34 is a schematic block diagram of an example of several frames ofcapacitive grid data with touches or hovers that are moving from frameto frame. Depending on the speed of movement of the touches, some of theframes could be skipped to reduce the amount of capacitive grid data.For example, frames i+1, 1+3, and i+5 could be skipped with negligibleloss of relatively slow movement, while reducing the amount of data by 2times.

As another example, the capacitive grid data could be encoding usingMPEG encoding. In this example, frame i would include a fullrepresentation of the capacitive grid data, which could be reduced usinganother data reduction scheme. The remaining frames would be encoded torepresent differences from frame i. This pattern would repeat for everyn groupings of consecutive frames, where n is an integer equal to orgreater than 3.

FIG. 35 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y-z values of acapacitive grid data forming a heat map. The color is represented of thez component divided into nine levels. Level 0 corresponds to nocapacitance effect, which is represented by the black capacitance cells(a capacitance cell is a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance).Level 1 corresponds to a capacitance change within a first range ofvalues, which is represented by the blue capacitance cells. Level 2corresponds to a capacitance change within a second range of values,which is represented by the green capacitance cells. Level 3 correspondsto a capacitance change within a third range of values, which isrepresented by the yellow capacitance cells.

Level 4 corresponds to a capacitance change within a fourth range ofvalues, which is represented by the tangerine capacitance cells. Level 5corresponds to a capacitance change within a fifth range of values,which is represented by the orange capacitance cells. Level 6corresponds to a capacitance change within a sixth range of values,which is represented by the red capacitance cells. Level 7 correspondsto a capacitance change within a seventh range of values, which isrepresented by the dark red capacitance cells. Level 8 corresponds to acapacitance change within an eighth range of values, which isrepresented by the purple capacitance cells.

The 3D grid data 170 can be reduced using contour mapping. Contourmapping reduces the data per layer to a binary value. Per layer, binarytransitions are determined to identify a one or more boundaries for thelayer. The one or more boundaries per layer are transmitted as a contourmap to represent the 3D grid data 170, which could be capacitive griddata, 3D image data, or 3D sensed data. FIGS. 36-62 provide examples ofcontour mapping of the 3D grid data of FIG. 35 .

FIG. 36 is a schematic block diagram of an example of z-value layers ofa capacitive grid data for contour mapping data reduction. In thisexample, each capacitance (self and mutual capacitors) of the capacitivegrid data have an x-y coordinate and a z-coordinate. The x-y coordinatesare determined based on the physical position of the mutual capacitancesand self-capacitances. The z-coordinate is determined based on theeffect on the capacitances. The z-coordinate is divided into nineregions: below L0 is Level 0, which corresponds to capacitance valuesnot affected. Level 1 is between L0 and L1; Level 2 is between L1 andL2; Level 3 is between L2 and L3; Level 4 is between L3 and L4; Level 5is between L4 and L5; Level 6 is between L5 and L6; and Level 7 isbetween L6 and L7.

In this example, the level of effect on the capacitance is an absolutevalue. For example, for a touch, mutual capacitance decreases andself-capacitance increases. As another example, for a hover, mutualcapacitance decreases and self-capacitance increases. Self and/or mutualcapacitance values will vary up and/or down based on outside stimuli tothe capacitors, where the outside stimuli include changing dielectricproperty, changing the area (physical or effective) of the capacitorplates, and/or changing the distance (physical or effective) between thecapacitor plates.

FIG. 37 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x_(i)-y0-z0 valuesfor the capacitive grid of FIG. 35 . In this example, the capacitancevalues at x0, and at x1 are not affected and have a z value below L0;thus they are at Level 0 (which are black cells in FIG. 35 ). Thecapacitance value at x2 has a z value above L0 and below L1; thus it isat Level 1 (which is a blue cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value atx3 has a z value above L1 and below L2; thus it is at Level 2 (which isa green cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x4 has a z valueabove L2 and below L3; thus it is at Level 3 (which is a yellow cell inFIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x5 has a z value above L3 and belowL4; thus it is at Level 4 (which is a tangerine cell in FIG. 35 ). Thecapacitance value at x6 has a z value above L4 and below L5; thus it isat Level 5 (which is an orange cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance valueat x7 has a z value above L4 and below L5; thus it is at Level 5 (whichis an orange cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x8 has a zvalue above L1 and below L2; thus it is at Level 2 (which is a greencell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x9 has a z value above L2and below L3; thus it is at Level 3 (which is a yellow cell in FIG. 35).

The capacitance value at x10 has a z value above L2 and below L3; thusit is at Level 3 (which is a yellow cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitancevalue at x11 has a z value above L1 and below L2; thus it is at Level 2(which is a green cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x12 has az value above L0 and below L1; thus it is at Level 1 (which is a bluecell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x13 has a z value below L0;thus it is at Level 0 (which is a black cell in FIG. 35 ). Thecapacitance value at x14 has a z value below L0; thus it is at Level 0(which is a black cell in FIG. 35 ).

FIG. 38 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 37 . For the first layer, which corresponds toline L0 (the blue line), z values that fall below line L0 are set to 0and z values above line L0 are set to 1. For the second layer, whichcorresponds to line L1 (the green line), z values that fall below lineL1 are set to 0 and z values above line L1 are set to 1. For the thirdlayer, which corresponds to line L2 (the yellow line), z values thatfall below line L2 are set to 0 and z values above line L2 are set to 1.

For the fourth layer, which corresponds to line L3 (the tangerine line),z values that fall below line L3 are set to 0 and z values above line L3are set to 1. For the fifth layer, which corresponds to line L4 (theorange line), z values that fall below line L4 are set to 0 and z valuesabove line L4 are set to 1. For the sixth layer, which corresponds toline L5 (the red line), z values that fall below line L5 are set to 0and z values above line L5 are set to 1. For the seventh layer, whichcorresponds to line L6 (the dark red line), z values that fall belowline L6 are set to 0 and z values above line L6 are set to 1. For theeighth layer, which corresponds to line L7 (the purple line), z valuesthat fall below line L7 are set to 0 and z values above line L7 are setto 1.

For each layer, transitions (1 to 0 or 0 to 1) are identified, whichcorresponds to edges of the binary data of the respective layer. Theshaded boxes indicate the transitions. For this example, the z valuesfor x1-x13 are below line L5, thus layers six-eight includes all zeroand have no transitions.

FIG. 39 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x_(i)-y1-z1 valuesfor the capacitive grid of FIG. 35 . The capacitance value at x1 has a zvalue below L0; thus it is at Level 0 (which is a black cell in FIG. 35). The capacitance value at x1 has a z value above L0 and below L1; thusit is at Level 1 (which is a blue cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitancevalue at x2 has a z value above L1 and below L2; thus it is at Level 2(which is a green cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x3 has a zvalue above L3 and below L4; thus it is at Level 4 (which is a tangerinecell in FIG. 35 ).

The capacitance value at x4 has a z value above L4 and below L5; thus itis at Level 5 (which is an orange cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitancevalue at x5 has a z value above L5 and below L6; thus it is at Level 6(which is a red cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance values at x6 and x7have a z value above L7; thus it is at Level 8 (which are purple cellsin FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x8 has a z value above L6 andbelow L7; thus it is at Level 7 (which is a dark red cell in FIG. 35 ).

The capacitance value at x9 has a z value above L5 and below L6; thus itis at Level 6 (which is a red cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance valueat x10 has a z value above L3 and below L4; thus it is at Level 4 (whichis a tangerine cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x11 has a zvalue above L2 and below L3; thus it is at Level 3 (which is a yellowcell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x12 has a z value above L1and below L2; thus it is at Level 2 (which is a green cell in FIG. 35 ).The capacitance value at x13 has a z value above L0 and below L1; thusit is at Level 1 (which is a blue cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitancevalue at x14 has a z value below L0; thus it is at Level 0 (which is ablack cell in FIG. 35 ).

FIG. 40 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 39 . A similar binary process is applied tothe data of FIG. 39 as was discussed with reference to FIG. 38 for thedata of FIG. 37 . In this example, each layer has at least onetransition, which are highlighted via the gray shaded boxes.

FIG. 41 is a schematic block diagram of an example of xi-y2-z2 valuesfor the capacitive grid of FIG. 35 . The capacitance value at x0 has a zvalue below L0; thus it is at Level 0 (which is a black cell in FIG. 35). The capacitance value at x1 has a z value above L1 and below L2; thusit is at Level 2 (which is a green cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitancevalue at x2 has a z value above L2 and below L3; thus it is at Level 3(which is a yellow cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x3 has az value above L4 and below L5; thus it is at Level 5 (which is an orangecell in FIG. 35 ).

The capacitance value at x4 has a z value above L5 and below L6; thus itis at Level 6 (which is a red cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance valueat x5 has a z value above L6 and below L7; thus it is at Level 7 (whichis a dark red cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance values at x6, 7, and 8have a z value above L7; thus it is at Level 8 (which is an a purplecell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x9 has a z value above L6and below L7; thus it is at Level 7 (which is a dark red cell in FIG. 35).

The capacitance value at x10 has a z value above L5 and below L6; thusit is at Level 6 (which is a red cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitancevalue at x11 has a z value above L3 and below L4; thus it is at Level 4(which is a tangerine cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x12has a z value above L2 and below L3; thus it is at Level 3 (which is ayellow cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x13 has a z valueabove L1 and below L2; thus it is at Level 2 (which is a green cell inFIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x has a z value above L0 and belowL1; thus it is at Level 1 (which is a blue cell in FIG. 35 ).

FIG. 42 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 41 . A similar binary process is applied tothe data of FIG. 41 as was discussed with reference to FIG. 38 for thedata of FIG. 37 . In this example, each layer has at least onetransition, which are highlighted via the gray shaded boxes.

FIG. 43 is a schematic block diagram of an example of xi-y3-z3 valuesfor the capacitive grid of FIG. 35 . The capacitance value at x0 has a zvalue above L1 and below L2; thus it is at Level 2 (which is a greencell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x1 has a z value above L2and below L3; thus it is at Level 3 (which is a yellow cell in FIG. 35). The capacitance value at x2 has a z value above L4 and below L5; thusit is at Level 5 (which is an orange cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitancevalue at x3 has a z value above L5 and below L6; thus it is at Level 6(which is a red cell in FIG. 35 ).

The capacitance value at x4 has a z value above L6 and below L7; thus itis at Level 7 (which is a dark red cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitancevalues at x5, 6, 7 have a z value above L7; thus it is at Level 8 (whichis an a purple cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x8 has a zvalue above L6 and below L7; thus it is at Level 7 (which is a dark redcell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x9 has a z value above L5and below L6; thus it is at Level 6 (which is a red cell in FIG. 35 ).

The capacitance value at x10 has a z value above L3 and below L4; thusit is at Level 4 (which is a tangerine cell in FIG. 35 ). Thecapacitance value at x11 has a z value above L2 and below L3; thus it isat Level 3 (which is a yellow cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance valueat x12 has a z value above L1 and below L2; thus it is at Level 2 (whichis a green cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance values at x13 and x14 havea z value above L0 and below L1; thus it is at Level 1 (which is a bluecell in FIG. 35 ).

FIG. 44 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 43 . A similar binary process is applied tothe data of FIG. 43 as was discussed with reference to FIG. 38 for thedata of FIG. 37 . In this example, each layer has at least onetransition, which are highlighted via the gray shaded boxes.

FIG. 45 is a schematic block diagram of an example of xi-y4-z4 valuesfor the capacitive grid of FIG. 35 . The capacitance value at x0 has a zvalue above L0 and below L1; thus it is at Level 1 (which is a blue cellin FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x1 has a z value above L1 andbelow L2; thus it is at Level 2 (which is a green cell in FIG. 35 ). Thecapacitance value at x2 has a z value above L2 and below L3; thus it isat Level 3 (which is a yellow cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance valueat x3 has a z value above L4 and below L5; thus it is at Level 5 (whichis an orange cell in FIG. 35 ).

The capacitance value at x4 has a z value above L5 and below L6; thus itis at Level 6 (which is a red cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance valueat x5 has a z value above L6 and below L7; thus it is at Level 7 (whichis a dark red cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance values at x6 and x7have a z value above L7; thus it is at Level 8 (which is an a purplecell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x8 has a z value above L6and below L7; thus it is at Level 7 (which is a dark red cell in FIG. 35). The capacitance value at x9 has a z value above L5 and below L6; thusit is at Level 6 (which is a red cell in FIG. 35 ).

The capacitance value at x10 has a z value above L3 and below L4; thusit is at Level 4 (which is a tangerine cell in FIG. 35 ). Thecapacitance value at x11 has a z value above L2 and below L3; thus it isat Level 3 (which is a yellow cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance valueat x12 has a z value above L1 and below L2; thus it is at Level 2 (whichis a green cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x13 has a z valueabove L0 and below L1; thus it is at Level 1 (which is a blue cell inFIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x14 has a z value below L0; thus itis at Level 0 (which is a black cell in FIG. 35 ).

FIG. 46 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 45 . A similar binary process is applied tothe data of FIG. 45 as was discussed with reference to FIG. 38 for thedata of FIG. 37 . In this example, each layer has at least onetransition, which are highlighted via the gray shaded boxes.

FIG. 47 is a schematic block diagram of an example of xi-y5-z5 valuesfor the capacitive grid of FIG. 35 . The capacitance value at x0 has a zvalue below L0; thus it is at Level 0 (which is a black cell in FIG. 35). The capacitance value at x1 has a z value above L0 and below L1; thusit is at Level 1 (which is a blue cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitancevalue at x2 has a z value above L1 and below L2; thus it is at Level 2(which is a green cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x3 has a zvalue above L2 and below L3; thus it is at Level 3 (which is a yellowcell in FIG. 35 ).

The capacitance value at x5 has a z value above L4 and below L5; thus itis at Level 5 (which is an orange cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitancevalue at x5 has a z value above L5 and below L6; thus it is at Level 6(which is a red cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x6 has a zvalue above L6 and below L7; thus it is at Level 7 (which is a dark redcell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x7 has a z value above L7;thus it is at Level 8 (which is an a purple cell in FIG. 35 ). Thecapacitance value at x9 has a z value above L6 and below L7; thus it isat Level 7 (which is a dark red cell in FIG. 35 ).

The capacitance value at x10 has a z value above L3 and below L4; thusit is at Level 4 (which is a tangerine cell in FIG. 35 ). Thecapacitance value at x11 has a z value above L2 and below L3; thus it isat Level 3 (which is a yellow cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance valueat x12 has a z value above L1 and below L2; thus it is at Level 2 (whichis a green cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x13 has a z valueabove L0 and below L1; thus it is at Level 1 (which is a blue cell inFIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x14 has a z value below L0; thus itis at Level 0 (which is a black cell in FIG. 35 ).

FIG. 48 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 47 . A similar binary process is applied tothe data of FIG. 47 as was discussed with reference to FIG. 38 for thedata of FIG. 37 . In this example, each layer has at least onetransition, which are highlighted via the gray shaded boxes.

FIG. 49 is a schematic block diagram of an example of xi-y6-z6 valuesfor the capacitive grid of FIG. 35 . The capacitance values at x0 and x1have a z value below L0; thus it is at Level 0 (which is a black cell inFIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x2 has a z value above L0 and belowL1; thus it is at Level 1 (which is a blue cell in FIG. 35 ). Thecapacitance value at x3 has a z value above L1 and below L2; thus it isat Level 2 (which is a green cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value atx4 has a z value above L2 and below L3; thus it is at Level 3 (which isa yellow cell in FIG. 35 ).

The capacitance value at x5 has a z value above L4 and below L5; thus itis at Level 5 (which is an orange cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitancevalue at x6 has a z value above L5 and below L6; thus it is at Level 6(which is a red cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x7 has a zvalue above L6 and below L7; thus it is at Level 7 (which is a dark redcell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x8 has a z value above L5and below L6; thus it is at Level 6 (which is a red cell in FIG. 35 ).The capacitance value at x9 has a z value above L3 and below L4; thus itis at Level 4 (which is a tangerine cell in FIG. 35 ).

The capacitance value at x10 has a z value above L2 and below L3; thusit is at Level 3 (which is a yellow cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitancevalue at x11 has a z value above L1 and below L2; thus it is at Level 2(which is a green cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x12 has az value above L0 and below L1; thus it is at Level 1 (which is a bluecell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance values at x13 and x14 have a z valuebelow L0; thus it is at Level 0 (which is a black cell in FIG. 35 ).

FIG. 50 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 49 . A similar binary process is applied tothe data of FIG. 49 as was discussed with reference to FIG. 38 for thedata of FIG. 37 . In this example, layers 0-6 have at least onetransition, which are highlighted via the gray shaded boxes. Layer 7 hasno transitions.

FIG. 51 is a schematic block diagram of an example of xi-y7-z7 valuesfor the capacitive grid of FIG. 35 . The capacitance values at x0-x2 hasa z value below L0; thus it is at Level 0 (which is a black cell in FIG.35 ). The capacitance value at x3 has a z value above L0 and below L1;thus it is at Level 1 (which is a blue cell in FIG. 35 ). Thecapacitance value at x4 has a z value above L1 and below L2; thus it isat Level 2 (which is a green cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value atx5 has a z value above L2 and below L3; thus it is at Level 3 (which isa yellow cell in FIG. 35 ).

The capacitance value at x6 has a z value above L4 and below L5; thus itis at Level 5 (which is an orange cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitancevalues at x7 and x8 have a z value above L5 and below L6; thus it is atLevel 6 (which is a red cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x9has a z value above L3 and below L4; thus it is at Level 4 (which is atangerine cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x10 has a z valueabove L2 and below L3; thus it is at Level 3 (which is a yellow cell inFIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x11 has a z value above L1 and belowL2; thus it is at Level 2 (which is a green cell in FIG. 35 ). Thecapacitance value at x12 has a z value above L0 and below L1; thus it isat Level 1 (which is a blue cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance values atx13 and x14 have a z value below L0; thus it is at Level 0 (which is ablack cell in FIG. 35 ).

FIG. 52 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 51 . A similar binary process is applied tothe data of FIG. 51 as was discussed with reference to FIG. 38 for thedata of FIG. 37 . In this example, layers 0-5 have at least onetransition, which are highlighted via the gray shaded boxes. Layers 6and 7 have no transitions.

FIG. 53 is a schematic block diagram of an example of x-y8-z8 values forthe capacitive grid of FIG. 35 . The capacitance values at x0-x2 have az value below L0; thus it is at Level 0 (which is a black cell in FIG.35 ). The capacitance value at x3 has a z value above L0 and below L1;thus it is at Level 1 (which is a blue cell in FIG. 35 ). Thecapacitance value at x4 has a z value above L1 and below L2; thus it isat Level 2 (which is a green cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value atx5 has a z value above L2 and below L3; thus it is at Level 3 (which isa yellow cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x6 has a z valueabove L3 and below L4; thus it is at Level 4 (which is a tangerine cellin FIG. 35 ).

The capacitance values at x7 and x8 have a z value above L4 and belowL5; thus it is at Level 5 (which is an orange cell in FIG. 35 ). Thecapacitance value at x9 has a z value above L3 and below L4; thus it isat Level 4 (which is a tangerine cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitancevalue at x10 has a z value above L2 and below L3; thus it is at Level 3(which is a yellow cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x11 has az value above L1 and below L2; thus it is at Level 2 (which is a greencell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x12 has a z value above L0and below L1; thus it is at Level 1 (which is a blue cell in FIG. 35 ).The capacitance values at x13 and x14 have a z value below L0; thus itis at Level 0 (which is a black cell in FIG. 35 ).

FIG. 54 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 53 . A similar binary process is applied tothe data of FIG. 53 as was discussed with reference to FIG. 38 for thedata of FIG. 37 . In this example, layers 0-4 have at least onetransition, which are highlighted via the gray shaded boxes. Layers 5-7have no transitions.

FIG. 55 is a schematic block diagram of an example of xi-y9-z9 valuesfor the capacitive grid of FIG. 35 . The capacitance values at x0-x3have a z value below L0; thus it is at Level 0 (which is a black cell inFIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x4 has a z value above L0 and belowL1; thus it is at Level 1 (which is a blue cell in FIG. 35 ). Thecapacitance value at x5 has a z value above L1 and below L2; thus it isat Level 2 (which is a green cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value atx6 has a z value above L2 and below L3; thus it is at Level 3 (which isa yellow cell in FIG. 35 ).

The capacitance value at x7 has a z value above L3 and below L4; thus itis at Level 4 (which is a tangerine cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitancevalue at x8 has a z value above L2 and below L3; thus it is at Level 3(which is a yellow cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x9 has az value above L1 and below L2; thus it is at Level 2 (which is a greencell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x10 has a z value above L0and below L1; thus it is at Level 1 (which is a blue cell in FIG. 35 ).The capacitance values at x11-x14 have a z value below L0; thus it is atLevel 0 (which is a black cell in FIG. 35 ).

FIG. 56 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 55 . A similar binary process is applied tothe data of FIG. 55 as was discussed with reference to FIG. 38 for thedata of FIG. 37 . In this example, layers 0-3 have at least onetransition, which are highlighted via the gray shaded boxes. Layers 4-7have no transitions.

FIG. 57 is a schematic block diagram of an example of xi-y10-z10 valuesfor the capacitive grid of FIG. 35 . The capacitance values at x0-x4have a z value below L0; thus it is at Level 0 (which is a black cell inFIG. 35 ). The capacitance value at x5 has a z value above L0 and belowL1; thus it is at Level 1 (which is a blue cell in FIG. 35 ). Thecapacitance value at x6 has a z value above L1 and below L2; thus it isat Level 2 (which is a green cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance value atx7 has a z value above L2 and below L3; thus it is at Level 3 (which isa yellow cell in FIG. 35 ).

The capacitance value at x8 has a z value above L1 and below L2; thus itis at Level 2 (which is a green cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance valueat x9 has a z value above L0 and below L1; thus it is at Level 1 (whichis a blue cell in FIG. 35 ). The capacitance values at x10-x14 have a zvalue below L0; thus it is at Level 0 (which is a black cell in FIG. 35).

FIG. 58 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 57 . A similar binary process is applied tothe data of FIG. 57 as was discussed with reference to FIG. 38 for thedata of FIG. 37 . In this example, layers 0-2 have at least onetransition, which are highlighted via the gray shaded boxes. Layers 3-7have no transitions.

FIG. 59 is a schematic block diagram of an example of xi-y11-z11 valuesfor the capacitive grid of FIG. 35 . The capacitance values at x0-x6have a z value below L0; thus it is at Level 0 (which is a black cell inFIG. 35 ). The capacitance values at x7 and x8 have a z value above L0and below L1; thus it is at Level 1 (which is a blue cell in FIG. 35 ).The capacitance values at x9-x14 have a z value below L0; thus it is atLevel 0 (which is a black cell in FIG. 35 ).

FIG. 60 is a diagram of an example of creating binary values for eachlayer of the data of FIG. 59 . A similar binary process is applied tothe data of FIG. 59 as was discussed with reference to FIG. 38 for thedata of FIG. 37 . In this example, layer 0 has at least one transition,which are highlighted via the gray shaded boxes. Layers 1-7 have notransitions.

FIG. 61 is a schematic block diagram of an example of contour mappingthe values from FIGS. 36-60 with minimal to no filtering. In thisexample, the transitions identified for each layer in the even numberedFigures between 38 and 60 is mapped to the x-y coordinates of thecapacitive grid. As shown, the lines have some sharp edges and delineatethe contour of the heat map of FIG. 36 .

FIG. 62 is a schematic block diagram of an example of contour mappingthe values from FIGS. 36-60 with filtering. This figure is similar tothat of FIG. 61 with the sharp edges filtered to produce a more subtlecontour of the heat map of FIG. 35 .

FIG. 63 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a data circuit144 and/or 145 from previous figures. The data circuit 144 and/or 145includes a processing module 165, a data reconstruction decision module167, a data buffer module 171, a data reconstruction module 175 andmultiplexors (or switches, or logical connections). In general, the datacircuit 144 and/or 145 performs the inverse function of the datareduction processing circuit 165 of FIG. 17 .

In an example of operation, data use 160 is an input for determining thedata requirements 162. In combination with the data output rate of thedata pipe 142, the data requirements 162 and the data use 160 are inputsfor determining whether data reconstruction is needed and, if it is,determining how to implement it. Examples of determining the datarequirements and the data reduction scheme were discussed with referenceto one or more previous figures.

With the data reconstruction scheme determined, the input multiplexorreceives reduced capacitive grid data 148 from the data pipe 142. If thedata reconstruction decision module 166 determines that the reducedcapacitive grid data was not reduced and thus does not need to bereconstructed, the reduced capacitive grid data 148 is provided to theprocessing module 165 as the reconstructed capacitive grid data 177.

The processing module 165 processes the reconstructed capacitive griddata 177 to produce touch screen data 150. For example, the processingmodule 165 interprets the reconstructed capacitive grid data 177 todetermine a touch, the pressure of the touch, and the location of thetouch on the screen. As another example, the processing module 165interprets the reconstructed capacitive grid data 177 to determine ahover, a distance from the screen of the hover, and the location of thehover on the screen. As yet another example, the processing module 165interprets the reconstructed capacitive grid data 177 to identify anobject and its position on the screen. As a further example, theprocessing module 165 interprets the reconstructed capacitive grid data177 to identify a pattern on the screen. In a still further example, theprocessing module 165 interprets the reconstructed capacitive grid data177 to determine a screen-to-screen communication element.

If, however, the data reconstruction decision module 167 determines thatthe reduced capacitive grid data 148 does need to be reconstructed, itselects a data reduction scheme, which includes one or more datareconstruction processes. The one or more data reconstruction processesare the inverse of the one or more data reduction processes uses toproduce the reduced capacitive gird data 148.

For a single data reconstruction process, the data reconstruction module175 performs the specific data reconstruction process on the reducedcapacitive grid data to produce the reconstructed capacitive grid data177. If the data reduction scheme included a lossy data reductionprocess, the reconstructed capacitive grid data 177 will not beidentical to the capacitive grid data 170, but will include sufficientinformation such that the processing module can accurately create thetouch screen data 150. If the data reduction scheme included a losslessdata reduction process, the reconstructed capacitive grid data 177 willbe identical to the capacitive grid data 170.

For multiple data reconstruction processes, the data reconstructionmodule 175 performs a first data reconstruction process on the reducedcapacitive grid data 148 to produce partial reconstructed capacitivegrid data 173, which is stored in the data buffer module 171. The firstdata reconstruction process is the inverse of the second data reductionprocess used by the data reduction module 168 to produce the reducedcapacitive grid data 148 from the initial reduced capacitive grid data172.

The data reconstruction module 175 performs a second data reconstructionprocess on the partial reconstructed capacitive grid data 173 to producethe reconstructed capacitive grid data 177. The second datareconstruction process is the inverse of the second data reductionprocess used by the data reduction module 168 to produce the initialreduced capacitive grid data 172 from the capacitive grid data 170.

FIGS. 64-65 are a logic diagram of an embodiment of a method for datareconstruction. With reference to FIG. 64 , the method begins at step250 where the data circuit 144 and/or 145 receives reduced capacitivegrid data. The method continues at step 252 where the data circuitdetermines whether data reduction was enable such that the reducedcapacitive grid data is a reduced version of the capacitive grid data.If not, the method continues at step 254 where the data circuitprocesses the received capacitive grid data as the reconstructedcapacitive grid data to determine the touch screen data.

If data reduction is enabled, the method continues at step 256 where thedata circuit determines the data reconstruction scheme, which is theinverse of the reduction scheme. The method continues at step 258 wherethe data circuit reconstructs the capacitive grid data from the reducedcapacitive grid data in accordance with the data reconstruction scheme.The method then continues at step 254.

FIG. 65 illustrates a method for determining the data reconstructionscheme. This method starts at step 260 where the data circuit determineswhether one data reduction process was used to create the reducedcapacitive grid data. If yes, the method continues at step 262 where thedata circuit determines the data reconstruction process as the inverseof the data reduction process.

If the data reduction scheme included more than one data reductionprocess, the method continues at step 264 where the data circuitdetermines the order of the data reduction processes. The methodcontinues at step 266 where the data circuit reverses the order of thedata reduction processes. The method continues at step 268 where thedata circuit determines the data reconstruction processes as the inverseof the reverse order of the data reduction processes.

FIG. 66 is a logic diagram of an embodiment of a method for changingdata reduction schemes. The method begins at step 280 where a computingdevice is using a current data reduction scheme to reduce capacitivegrid data. The method continues at step 282 where the computing devicedetermines whether use of the capacitive grid data has changed. If not,the method waits until a change occurs or the touch screen function isdisable.

If the use has changed, the method continues at step 284 where thecomputing device determines whether the data reduction scheme needs tobe changed. For example, the computing device performs the functionspreviously discussed to determine a data reduction scheme for the newuse. If the current data reduction scheme (i.e., the one for the olduse) is comparable to the newly determined data reduction scheme, then achange is not needed. If a change is not needed, the method repeats atstep 282. If a change is needed, the method continues at step 286 wherethe computing device changes the data reduction scheme to the newlydetermined one.

In the preceding figures, one or more examples of data reduction anddata reconstruction of capacitive grid data has been discussed. Notethat 3D image data can be processed in a similar manner as the processesof the capacitive grid data as discussed herein.

It is noted that terminologies as may be used herein such as bit stream,stream, signal sequence, etc. (or their equivalents) have been usedinterchangeably to describe digital information whose contentcorresponds to any of a number of desired types (e.g., data, video,speech, text, graphics, audio, etc. any of which may generally bereferred to as ‘data’).

As may be used herein, the terms “substantially” and “approximately”provide an industry-accepted tolerance for its corresponding term and/orrelativity between items. For some industries, an industry-acceptedtolerance is less than one percent and, for other industries, theindustry-accepted tolerance is 10 percent or more. Other examples ofindustry-accepted tolerance range from less than one percent to fiftypercent. Industry-accepted tolerances correspond to, but are not limitedto, component values, integrated circuit process variations, temperaturevariations, rise and fall times, thermal noise, dimensions, signalingerrors, dropped packets, temperatures, pressures, material compositions,and/or performance metrics. Within an industry, tolerance variances ofaccepted tolerances may be more or less than a percentage level (e.g.,dimension tolerance of less than +/−1%). Some relativity between itemsmay range from a difference of less than a percentage level to a fewpercent. Other relativity between items may range from a difference of afew percent to magnitude of differences.

As may also be used herein, the term(s) “configured to”, “operablycoupled to”, “coupled to”, and/or “coupling” includes direct couplingbetween items and/or indirect coupling between items via an interveningitem (e.g., an item includes, but is not limited to, a component, anelement, a circuit, and/or a module) where, for an example of indirectcoupling, the intervening item does not modify the information of asignal but may adjust its current level, voltage level, and/or powerlevel. As may further be used herein, inferred coupling (i.e., where oneelement is coupled to another element by inference) includes direct andindirect coupling between two items in the same manner as “coupled to”.

As may even further be used herein, the term “configured to”, “operableto”, “coupled to”, or “operably coupled to” indicates that an itemincludes one or more of power connections, input(s), output(s), etc., toperform, when activated, one or more its corresponding functions and mayfurther include inferred coupling to one or more other items. As maystill further be used herein, the term “associated with”, includesdirect and/or indirect coupling of separate items and/or one item beingembedded within another item.

As may be used herein, the term “compares favorably”, indicates that acomparison between two or more items, signals, etc., provides a desiredrelationship. For example, when the desired relationship is that signal1 has a greater magnitude than signal 2, a favorable comparison may beachieved when the magnitude of signal 1 is greater than that of signal 2or when the magnitude of signal 2 is less than that of signal 1. As maybe used herein, the term “compares unfavorably”, indicates that acomparison between two or more items, signals, etc., fails to providethe desired relationship.

As may be used herein, one or more claims may include, in a specificform of this generic form, the phrase “at least one of a, b, and c” orof this generic form “at least one of a, b, or c”, with more or lesselements than “a”, “b”, and “c”. In either phrasing, the phrases are tobe interpreted identically. In particular, “at least one of a, b, and c”is equivalent to “at least one of a, b, or c” and shall mean a, b,and/or c. As an example, it means: “a” only, “b” only, “c” only, “a” and“b”, “a” and “c”, “b” and “c”, and/or “a”, “b”, and “c”.

As may also be used herein, the terms “processing module”, “processingcircuit”, “processor”, “processing circuitry”, and/or “processing unit”may be a single processing device or a plurality of processing devices.Such a processing device may be a microprocessor, micro-controller,digital signal processor, microcomputer, central processing unit, fieldprogrammable gate array, programmable logic device, state machine, logiccircuitry, analog circuitry, digital circuitry, and/or any device thatmanipulates signals (analog and/or digital) based on hard coding of thecircuitry and/or operational instructions. The processing module,module, processing circuit, processing circuitry, and/or processing unitmay be, or further include, memory and/or an integrated memory element,which may be a single memory device, a plurality of memory devices,and/or embedded circuitry of another processing module, module,processing circuit, processing circuitry, and/or processing unit. Such amemory device may be a read-only memory, random access memory, volatilememory, non-volatile memory, static memory, dynamic memory, flashmemory, cache memory, and/or any device that stores digital information.Note that if the processing module, module, processing circuit,processing circuitry, and/or processing unit includes more than oneprocessing device, the processing devices may be centrally located(e.g., directly coupled together via a wired and/or wireless busstructure) or may be distributedly located (e.g., cloud computing viaindirect coupling via a local area network and/or a wide area network).Further note that if the processing module, module, processing circuit,processing circuitry and/or processing unit implements one or more ofits functions via a state machine, analog circuitry, digital circuitry,and/or logic circuitry, the memory and/or memory element storing thecorresponding operational instructions may be embedded within, orexternal to, the circuitry comprising the state machine, analogcircuitry, digital circuitry, and/or logic circuitry. Still further notethat, the memory element may store, and the processing module, module,processing circuit, processing circuitry and/or processing unitexecutes, hard coded and/or operational instructions corresponding to atleast some of the steps and/or functions illustrated in one or more ofthe Figures. Such a memory device or memory element can be included inan article of manufacture.

One or more embodiments have been described above with the aid of methodsteps illustrating the performance of specified functions andrelationships thereof. The boundaries and sequence of these functionalbuilding blocks and method steps have been arbitrarily defined hereinfor convenience of description. Alternate boundaries and sequences canbe defined so long as the specified functions and relationships areappropriately performed. Any such alternate boundaries or sequences arethus within the scope and spirit of the claims. Further, the boundariesof these functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined forconvenience of description. Alternate boundaries could be defined aslong as the certain significant functions are appropriately performed.Similarly, flow diagram blocks may also have been arbitrarily definedherein to illustrate certain significant functionality.

To the extent used, the flow diagram block boundaries and sequence couldhave been defined otherwise and still perform the certain significantfunctionality. Such alternate definitions of both functional buildingblocks and flow diagram blocks and sequences are thus within the scopeand spirit of the claims. One of average skill in the art will alsorecognize that the functional building blocks, and other illustrativeblocks, modules and components herein, can be implemented as illustratedor by discrete components, application specific integrated circuits,processors executing appropriate software and the like or anycombination thereof.

In addition, a flow diagram may include a “start” and/or “continue”indication. The “start” and “continue” indications reflect that thesteps presented can optionally be incorporated in or otherwise used inconjunction with one or more other routines. In addition, a flow diagrammay include an “end” and/or “continue” indication. The “end” and/or“continue” indications reflect that the steps presented can end asdescribed and shown or optionally be incorporated in or otherwise usedin conjunction with one or more other routines. In this context, “start”indicates the beginning of the first step presented and may be precededby other activities not specifically shown. Further, the “continue”indication reflects that the steps presented may be performed multipletimes and/or may be succeeded by other activities not specificallyshown. Further, while a flow diagram indicates a particular ordering ofsteps, other orderings are likewise possible provided that theprinciples of causality are maintained.

The one or more embodiments are used herein to illustrate one or moreaspects, one or more features, one or more concepts, and/or one or moreexamples. A physical embodiment of an apparatus, an article ofmanufacture, a machine, and/or of a process may include one or more ofthe aspects, features, concepts, examples, etc. described with referenceto one or more of the embodiments discussed herein. Further, from figureto figure, the embodiments may incorporate the same or similarly namedfunctions, steps, modules, etc. that may use the same or differentreference numbers and, as such, the functions, steps, modules, etc. maybe the same or similar functions, steps, modules, etc. or differentones.

While the transistors in the above described figure(s) is/are shown asfield effect transistors (FETs), as one of ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate, the transistors may be implemented using any type oftransistor structure including, but not limited to, bipolar, metal oxidesemiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFET), N-well transistors,P-well transistors, enhancement mode, depletion mode, and zero voltagethreshold (VT) transistors.

Unless specifically stated to the contra, signals to, from, and/orbetween elements in a figure of any of the figures presented herein maybe analog or digital, continuous time or discrete time, and single-endedor differential. For instance, if a signal path is shown as asingle-ended path, it also represents a differential signal path.Similarly, if a signal path is shown as a differential path, it alsorepresents a single-ended signal path. While one or more particulararchitectures are described herein, other architectures can likewise beimplemented that use one or more data buses not expressly shown, directconnectivity between elements, and/or indirect coupling between otherelements as recognized by one of average skill in the art.

The term “module” is used in the description of one or more of theembodiments. A module implements one or more functions via a device suchas a processor or other processing device or other hardware that mayinclude or operate in association with a memory that stores operationalinstructions. A module may operate independently and/or in conjunctionwith software and/or firmware. As also used herein, a module may containone or more sub-modules, each of which may be one or more modules.

As may further be used herein, a computer readable memory includes oneor more memory elements. A memory element may be a separate memorydevice, multiple memory devices, or a set of memory locations within amemory device. Such a memory device may be a read-only memory, randomaccess memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, static memory,dynamic memory, flash memory, cache memory, and/or any device thatstores digital information. The memory device may be in a form asolid-state memory, a hard drive memory, cloud memory, thumb drive,server memory, computing device memory, and/or other physical medium forstoring digital information.

While particular combinations of various functions and features of theone or more embodiments have been expressly described herein, othercombinations of these features and functions are likewise possible. Thepresent disclosure is not limited by the particular examples disclosedherein and expressly incorporates these other combinations.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprises: providing, by a processingmodule of a touch screen computing device, a plurality of selfcapacitance signals to a plurality of drive-sense circuits of the touchscreen computing device, wherein each self capacitance signal of theplurality of self capacitance signals includes an oscillating componentat a first frequency; providing, by the processing module, a pluralityof mutual capacitance signals to a first set of drive-sense circuits ofthe plurality of drive-sense circuits, wherein each mutual capacitancesignal of the plurality of mutual capacitance signals includes anoscillating component at a unique frequency; obtaining, by theprocessing module, self capacitance data from the plurality ofdrive-sense circuits, wherein the plurality of drive-sense circuitsprovides the plurality of self capacitance signals to a plurality ofsensors forming a capacitive grid of a touch screen of the touch screencomputing device, wherein the plurality of drive-sense circuits detectchanges in the plurality of self capacitance signals to produce the selfcapacitance data, and wherein the detected changes in the plurality ofself capacitance signals correspond to self capacitance changes of theplurality of sensors; obtaining, by the processing module, mutualcapacitance data from a second set of drive-sense circuits of theplurality of drive-sense circuits, wherein the first set of drive-sensecircuits provides the plurality of mutual capacitance signals to a firstset of sensors of the plurality of sensors, wherein the second set ofdrive-sense circuits detect changes in the plurality of mutualcapacitance signals to produce the mutual capacitance data, and whereinthe changes in the plurality of mutual capacitance signals correspond tomutual capacitance changes between the first and second sets of sensors;generating, by the processing module, capacitance grid data based on theself capacitance data and the mutual capacitance data; determining, bythe processing module, a use for the capacitance grid data; determining,by the processing module, data requirements for the capacitance griddata based on the use and properties of the capacitance grid; and whendata reduction is enabled: determining, by the processing module, a datareduction scheme based on the data requirements and an output data rate,wherein the data reduction scheme includes one or more of dataelimination and data compression; and processing, by the processingmodule, the capacitance grid data in accordance with the data reductionscheme to produce reduced capacitive grid data.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the generating the capacitance grid data comprises:generating a plurality of self capacitance values from the selfcapacitance data; and generating a plurality of mutual capacitancevalues from the mutual capacitance data.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the determining the use comprises: determining the use from oneor more uses of a plurality of uses, wherein the plurality of usesincludes two or more of: touch detection; hover detection; patternrecognition; object recognition; and screen-to-screen datacommunication.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data requirementscomprise one or more of: data resolution of the touch screen; bits persample of the capacitance grid data; frame rate of the capacitance griddata; use of self capacitance values; use of mutual capacitance values;and data rate of a frame of the capacitance grid data.
 5. The method ofclaim 1 further comprises: enabling the data reduction when the outputdata rate cannot support the data requirements.
 6. The method of claim 1further comprises: enabling the data reduction based on an input signal.7. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the data reductionscheme further comprises: determining whether the data reduction schemecan be lossy based on the use; and when the data reduction scheme can belossy, selecting a lossy data reduction process from a plurality of datacompression options.
 8. The method of claim 7 further comprises: whenthe data reduction scheme cannot be lossy, selecting a lossless datareduction process from the plurality of data compression options.
 9. Themethod of claim 7, wherein the plurality of data compression optionsincludes two or more of: principal component analysis (PCA); clustering;region of interest (ROI); mu law encoding; a-law encoding; run lengthencoding (RLE); edge reduction; and contour reduction.
 10. The method ofclaim 1 further comprises: providing, by the processing module, thereduced capacitive grid data to a data circuit.
 11. The method of claim10, wherein the data circuit comprises one of: a component of the touchscreen computing device; another computing device; a remote display; andremote memory.
 12. A touch screen computing device comprises: a touchscreen including a plurality of sensors forming a capacitive grid; aplurality of drive-sense circuits operably coupled to: provide aplurality of self capacitance signals to the plurality of sensors;detect changes in the plurality of self capacitance signals to produceself capacitance data, wherein the detected changes in the plurality ofself capacitance signals correspond to self capacitance changes of theplurality of sensors; wherein a first set of drive-sense circuits of theplurality of drive-sense circuits is operable to: provide a plurality ofmutual capacitance signals to a first set of sensors of the plurality ofsensors; and wherein a second set of drive-sense circuits of theplurality of drive-sense circuits is operable to: detect changes in theplurality of mutual capacitance signals to produce mutual capacitancedata, wherein the detected changes in the plurality of mutualcapacitance signals correspond to mutual capacitance changes between thefirst and second sets of sensors; and a processing module operablycoupled to: provide the plurality of self capacitance signals to theplurality of drive-sense circuits, wherein each self capacitance signalof the plurality of self capacitance signals includes an oscillatingcomponent at a first frequency; provide the plurality of mutualcapacitance signals to the first set of drive-sense circuits, whereineach mutual capacitance signal of the plurality of mutual capacitancesignals includes an oscillating component at a unique frequency; obtainthe self capacitance data from the plurality of drive-sense circuits;obtain the mutual capacitance data from the second set of drive-sensecircuits; generate capacitance grid data based on the self capacitancedata and the mutual capacitance data; determine a use for thecapacitance grid data; determine data requirements for the capacitancegrid data based on the use and properties of the capacitance grid; andwhen data reduction is enabled: determine a data reduction scheme basedon the data requirements and an output data rate, wherein the datareduction scheme includes one or more of data elimination and datacompression; and process the capacitance grid data in accordance withthe data reduction scheme to produce reduced capacitive grid data. 13.The touch screen computing device of claim 12, wherein generating thecapacitance grid data comprises: generating a plurality of selfcapacitance values from the self capacitance data; and generating aplurality of mutual capacitance values from the mutual capacitance data.14. The touch screen computing device of claim 12, wherein theprocessing module is further operable to determine the use by:determining the use from one or more uses of a plurality of uses,wherein the plurality of uses includes two or more of: touch detection;hover detection; pattern recognition; object recognition; andscreen-to-screen data communication.
 15. The touch screen computingdevice of claim 12, wherein the data requirements comprise one or moreof: data resolution of the touch screen; bits per sample of thecapacitance grid data; frame rate of the capacitance grid data; use ofself capacitance values; use of mutual capacitance values; and data rateof a frame of the capacitance grid data.
 16. The touch screen computingdevice of claim 12, wherein the processing module is further operableto: enable the data reduction when the output data rate cannot supportthe data requirements.
 17. The touch screen computing device of claim12, wherein the processing module is further operable to: enable thedata reduction based on an input signal.
 18. The touch screen computingdevice of claim 12, wherein the processing module is further operable todetermine the data reduction scheme by: determining whether the datareduction scheme can be lossy based on the use; and when the datareduction scheme can be lossy, selecting a lossy data reduction processfrom a plurality of data compression options.
 19. The touch screencomputing device of claim 18, wherein the processing module is furtheroperable to: when the data reduction scheme cannot be lossy, select alossless data reduction process from the plurality of data compressionoptions.
 20. The touch screen computing device of claim 18, wherein theplurality of data compression options includes two or more of: principalcomponent analysis (PCA); clustering; region of interest (ROI); mu lawencoding; a-law encoding; run length encoding (RLE); edge reduction; andcontour reduction.
 21. The touch screen computing device of claim 12,wherein the processing module is further operable to: provide thereduced capacitive grid data to a data circuit.
 22. The touch screencomputing device of claim 21, wherein the data circuit comprises one of:a component of the touch screen computing device; another computingdevice; a remote display; and remote memory.